Pat McAfee has never wavered in his convictions and has never expressed regret for his persona or the remarks he has made on his show.
On Monday, however, he disassociated himself from that strategy. After calling Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark “one white b—- who is a superstar,” he also issued an apology. All of that was said during a ten-minute tirade in which he attacked anonymous WNBA players and members of the press, citing Clark’s status as the sole superstar in this year’s rookie class and branding her a “cash cow.”
Monday’s Pat McAfee Show opened with a Caitlin Clark PowerPoint:
“I would like the media people that continue to say, ‘This rookie class, this rookie class, this rookie class’. Nah, just call it for what it is — there’s one white bitch for the Indiana team who is a superstar.” pic.twitter.com/psGNQXts5O
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 3, 2024
Pat McAfee clarifies his statement on Caitlin Clark
Following those statements, McAfee thought it was appropriate to clarify, something he doesn’t usually do. He revealed that, regardless of the situation, he shouldn’t have described Clark using the aforementioned terms, and that he was too much of a responsible for her and women to allow such to exist in the universe.
Although he had good intentions, he clarified that he understood why they weren’t perceived that way. He also said that he was sorry to Clark, who has frequently appeared on his show in Indianapolis.
I shouldn’t have used “white bitch” as a descriptor of Caitlin Clark. No matter the context.. even if we’re talking about race being a reason for some of the stuff happening.. I have way too much respect for her and women to put that into the universe.
My intentions when saying… pic.twitter.com/F6OHB4gvYh
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 3, 2024
It’s unclear if McAfee’s apology will be sufficient to patch things up with Clark and the WNBA community. It will take time to see if he can draw any lessons from this and carry on supporting the WNBA while speaking politely to all athletes.
