“That’s Fun”: ESPN’s Pat McAfee Breaks Silence on Death Threats From “Fake” College GameDay Viral Troll
“That’s Fun”: ESPN’s Pat McAfee Breaks Silence on Death Threats From “Fake” College GameDay Viral Troll
Kamran Ahmad Sun, September 27, 2026 at 8:00 PM UTC
0
November 15, 2025, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA: November 15, 2025: Pat McAfee on ESPN College Game Day during the University of Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh PA. Brook Ward / Apparent Media Group Pittsburgh USA – ZUMAa234 20251115_zsa_a234_326 Copyright: xAMGx ©IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire
Pat McAfee woke up Sunday to discover that the internet had apparently decided he had picked President Donald Trump to beat Texas. The ESPN personality had not done that. He had picked Tennessee. By then, however, a fake College GameDay post had already made its way around X.
“Last week it was @JonnyRoot_ completely lying about what I said and dropping me into something with potential real-life repercussions,” McAfee wrote on X on September 27. “This week.. Shane Tuttle does some of it’s finest internetting.
“The good news is, all of these folks that were very excited to believe this DEFINITELY got a follow-up about this being fake, right? I’m sure they all know it’s not real.”
McAfee says some people had taken it seriously enough to send him violent messages. The post came from Shane Tuttle, an account that openly describes itself as satire and says it is not affiliated with the NCAA.
Pat McAfee's become impossible to ignore on College GameDay, for better or worse. Subscribe for more interesting stories.
Tuttle’s post also included a fake quote about McAfee only rooting for “TEAM USA.” The joke landed in the middle of a huge GameDay weekend, with President Trump actually attending the game at Neyland Stadium.
In reality, McAfee picked Tennessee on College GameDay, alongside guest picker Johnny Knoxville. Texas eventually won 20-17 in front of 101,915 fans. The WVU alum also highlighted some vile death threats on X that he received.
“Just blow him up at this point, my god,” wrote a user as McAfee shared the screenshot. Another user called the ESPN host a “worthless piece of s—” and said that he doesn’t watch GameDay because of him.
The most disgusting one came from an X user, ‘Tronnie Rants,’ who wrote McAfee “needs to get Kirk-d,” an apparent reference to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. McAfee has already addressed a separate “Kirk-d” threat on his show earlier in the week after another user made the reference.
The incident came after McAfee discussed the Indianapolis Colts, and he told viewers that people were repeatedly attaching statements to him that he had never made. Because of the threats, McAfee also called out X’s community note and how late it appears on the feed.
Advertisement
A correction can exist on the same platform as the original lie without ever reaching the same people. McAfee questioned whether a community note added later actually pushes the correction back into the feeds of the users who saw the original post.
This was not simply a case of an analyst getting roasted after missing a pick. McAfee has become one of ESPN’s most visible personalities, which means his comments travel well beyond the people actually watching College GameDay.
The program averaged 2.7 million viewers per show during its record-setting 2025 season, up roughly 22% from the previous year. McAfee’s weekday show also averaged 436,000 viewers across television and digital platforms in 2025, while generating more than 1 billion social-media views in September.
Despite that popularity, McAfee also has his share of critics and remains a polarizing sporting figure because of his loud persona. That’s why this is not McAfee’s first experience with a false claim turning into something much bigger.
In August, another fake report claimed McAfee would take over Lee Corso’s famous headgear picks on College GameDay. The fabricated post even used an ESPN-style graphic. The claim was false.
Rece Davis had already made clear that Corso’s 38-year headgear tradition ended when Corso retired in 2025. McAfee subsequently pushed back on the report. There was another instance last month.
An X user accused McAfee of using a racial slur after McAfee appeared with Trump at the Patriot Games. McAfee called the accusation “grotesque” and said his lawyers would examine whether it was potentially grounds for a lawsuit.
“That’s fun. That’s the good stuff. And if I do get “kir-ed,” please know that I love my kin and I love ball. Now… Let’s have a phenomenal NFL Sunday,” McAfee concluded his X post.
For McAfee now, the problem is no longer simply that people believe everything they see on X. It is how quickly a joke can become a real accusation once it escapes its original context.
Trending Articles
USC Star Caught Laughing After Causing Serious Injury to Oregon QB Dante Moore & Required Ambulance
Oregon vs. USC Controversy: QB in Ambulance, Fight Breaks Out, Foulant Gets Doxxed & More
Every Texas Fan Is Saying the Same Thing After Arch Manning’s Post-Win Interaction With ESPN’s Holly Rowe
Urban Meyer, ESPN Insider Confirm Trouble for Big Ten HC With $72M Buyout: Report
Texas Athlete Gets Penalized for Controversial On-Field Celebration
The post “That’s Fun”: ESPN’s Pat McAfee Breaks Silence on Death Threats From “Fake” College GameDay Viral Troll appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
