Michael Kay calls out Pat McAfees criticism of…
Michael Kay took exception to some of Pat McAfee’s criticisms of conventional sports activities journalism during his radio show, pushing back on the favored ESPN discuss host’s feedback, calling sports activities journalists “curmudgeon bums” who hate sports activities.
All of it stems back to the viral second between Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and the Jacksonville Free Press’ Lynn Jones-Turnpin that has stoked a debate about what’s applicable in a press convention setting.
Kay’s issue wasn’t so a lot with what Jones-Turnpin did, moderately, it was what McAfee said about the response to it, pushing back that he didn’t assume he was a curmudgeon nor does he hate sports activities.
“I don’t think that sport should be looked at as anything but a unifier for society. And I don’t prey on sports because I saw it was an easier path to make it. I think I’ve done my job in an honorable way,” Kay said, per Awful Announcing.
Michael Kay took issue with Pat McAfee’s feedback about conventional sports activities journalists. ESPN NY/ YouTube
Kay later continued, addressing, what he felt, was the correct time and place that issues had been applicable.
“Pat McAfee’s show is there to celebrate sports, and I think it’s great, and I think it’s a great thing on ESPN,” Kay said. “He gets the best guests, and obviously, people feel that’s a nice landing spot to give their side of the story. He has figured it out. He’s not there to grill people. He’s there to have a conversation with somebody who’s a newsmaker, make them feel comfortable, have a good time. The formula works. It’s perfect. But you couldn’t do that in a postgame scrum, Pat. You can’t. That’s not the place for it.”
Kay added an anecdote from his own profession on a beat when he had gone up to then-Yankees supervisor Buck Showalter following a Game 5 loss to the Mariners in the 1995 ALDS to inform him how sorry he was for what he had been going through. However, the second had come following a press convention and he still had requested the Yankees skipper powerful questions.
The Yankees broadcaster explained that he would never have executed that in a press convention and that it didn’t imply he hated sports activities.
Pat McAfee at the 2025 Rose Bowl and quarterfinal recreation of the College Football Playoff at Rose Bowl Stadium Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
“Doesn’t mean that I’m looking to be negative. People have a job to do,” Kay said.
The broadcaster had later pushed back at some of McAfee’s stronger takes.
“To go after these people, I don’t know. It’s a little strong, Pat. It really is. It’s a little strong,” Kay said. “Not everybody is evil. Not everybody who tries to do their jobs is evil.”
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