Pat McAfee woke up to an Election Day debate about his seat on "College GameDay." By the end of the day, he said, people were messaging him as if the votes had already been counted.
The ESPN analyst joked that he had no idea his Saturday morning job was on the ballot. He also said the criticism had gotten mean enough for him to spend less time on X, where the reaction to his recent comments about Utah had followed him well past the broadcast.
"I've been staying off of X. Just been pretty mean on there, you know, and everybody's calling me a snowflake and everything," McAfee said in comments shared by Awful Announcing. "It's like, 'Okay. [Expletive]. All right.' I guess this is me being soft."
McAfee said he received a batch of messages telling him he had been "voted off College GameDay." He played along with the joke, saying he didn't know it was on the ballot and apologizing with an exaggerated sense of resignation. He was recounting messages from people ribbing him about the backlash.
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His response also touched on how a debate about a college football show had spilled into political commentary. McAfee said he felt he'd been used in the political world and had managed to upset people across the political spectrum.
He said he had learned his lesson and intended to steer clear of that space. That part of the response was more direct than the ballot joke. McAfee was talking about where he wanted to spend his time, saying he had been staying off X and planned to steer clear of the political world.
The Election Day criticism came from Joe Scarborough on MS NOW's "Morning Joe." The panel had been discussing ESPN's Nick Saban documentary when Scarborough turned to a show he said he looks forward to watching on Saturday mornings.
"I've just had enough of this Pat McAfee ruining College GameDay," Scarborough said in the segment.
Scarborough praised Rece Davis, Saban, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard. His complaint was that giving McAfee more airtime crowded out the rest of the panel.
The discussion also touched on the show's chemistry, with Geist saying it had become 'a little bit of the McAfee show' and Scarborough arguing that ESPN was giving McAfee enough time to eclipse the rest of the cast.
Scarborough pointed to McAfee's reaction to signs and comments from fans in Utah. McAfee had said he felt deeply uncomfortable during the visit and raised safety concerns, and later shared screenshots of threatening messages he said he'd received. By the following "GameDay," some viewers welcomed a more subdued appearance from McAfee .
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There's room for a debate about how much airtime any one analyst should get on a show with that many familiar voices. Scarborough made clear he enjoys watching Davis, Saban, and the rest of the longtime panel, while Geist said part of the Saturday ritual is waiting for the show's picks at the end.
McAfee, meanwhile, can spend a Saturday doing the job and leave the arguments about his performance to people who still want to spend the afternoon on X.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
