ESPN’s Pat McAfee claimed God gave him the direction to stop mentioning Caitlin Clark on the network after using profanity to describe the WNBA star.
On Wednesday’s episode of his eponymous show, which included a simulcast with the Rich Eisen Show, the former Colts punter implied that Faith was telling him to refrain from talking about Clark despite his stellar rookie season with the Fever.
“Well… the universe told me not to talk about her,” McAfee said. “God stepped in and said, ‘You know what, man? You better stop doing that.'”
Eisen then asked McAfee why the “universe” gave him a sign to stop mentioning Clark in his weekly live television briefings.
“Because I’m an idiot, mostly,” McAfee said.
Pat McAfee said he felt compelled to stop talking about Caitlin Clark on ESPN by God himself
Earlier this year, McAfee referred to Clark as a “white bitch” during a debate about her early-season performances compared to those of Angel Reese in an opening segment of his show.
He later apologized.
“I shouldn’t have used ‘white bitch’ as a descriptor for Caitlin Clark,” McAfee wrote on X.
‘No matter the context… even if we’re talking about race being the reason for some of the things that happen… I have too much respect for her and for women to put that out there in the universe.’
He continued: “My intentions in saying it were complimentary, as was the whole segment, but a lot of people say I wasn’t at all. That’s 100 percent my fault and for that I apologize…”
Clark has often been brought up in sensitive conversations about race due to her rivalry with Angel Reese.
“I also sent an apology to Caitlin. Everything else I said… it’s all still true.”
Clark has been on a roll since the WNBA’s two-week hiatus ended following the Olympics, where the U.S. women’s basketball team won gold.
He broke a nearly 30-year-old rookie attendance record in the Fever’s 92-75 win over the Seattle Storm.
Clark finished with 23 points and his nine assists gave him 231 on the season, the most by a rookie since Ticha Penicheiro racked up 225 for the Sacramento Monarchs, one of the league’s original eight franchises.
