Pat McAfee has been catching heat since his controversial appearance alongside President Donald Trump at the Patriot Games, which drew comparisons to the dystopian “Hunger Games.”
A fellow podcaster has now expressed his outrage at the veteran sports media voice for attending the Trump-backed event in Geneva, Ohio.
Van Lathan Questions Pat McAfee’s Political Stance
McAfee greeted President Trump at Air Force One in a downpour, walked alongside him before the event, and later sat right next to him during the competition. Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro were also in attendance.
On the “Higher Learning” podcast, hosts Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay slammed McAfee for what they saw as a clear alignment with the administration, despite his repeated claims of staying out of politics.
“Pat McAfee wants to be MAGA so bad, he just won’t let it happen,” Lathan said, accusing the ESPN star of dancing around his true feelings instead of owning them.
“I wonder if he feels like he’s letting his ancestors down,” Lathan continued. “Your ancestors kicked the (expletive) out of people for a long time, so you didn’t have to hide the fact that you stand next to a racist and xenophobic political product.”
“Just (expletive) do it. Just do it. Everybody else, they done made it plain and clear. It cost them nothing,” Lathan added. “No one (expletive) cares. You guys have outed yourselves as the bad guy. You think that any of the athletes that you would want to interview on the Pat McAfee Show are not going to come on there because you’re MAGA? You’re wrong.”
Lathan argued that nobody watching the event closely would see it as anything but political theater. He called it “poorly done propaganda” and made the point that McAfee’s presence gave the whole spectacle credibility it didn’t deserve.
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“The most successful thing about the Patriot Games is that they got Pat McAfee… The most successful thing about it is that they got somebody like him and ESPN to stand next to this product. No one else looking at this thinks this is anything other than direct propaganda from the Trump administration,” he argued.
Lindsay, an attorney and the first Black Bachelorette, echoed the frustration.
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“It’s so annoying that you keep talking to people like they’re stupid,” she said. Lindsay pointed out that the only thing missing from McAfee’s look was a red hat and the actual words confirming his support for Trump.
Lindsay also raised concerns about how participants were selected for the Patriot Games. She noted that athletes had to submit videos describing what it means to be a patriot and identify themselves based on the biological sex assigned at birth.
CNN previously reported the field skewed heavily white, with many competitors coming from Christian schools.
For his part, McAfee addressed the criticism on his ESPN show, insisting the trip was about supporting young athletes rather than making a political statement. He downplayed any deeper alignment with Trump and used the appearance to promote his upcoming music project.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.