Ahead of Week 9 of college football, the fallout from ESPN personality Pat McAfee's rant over a clip of students from the University of Utah trolling him has continued unabated. McAfee has received official apologies from the university over the clip that was posted on the school's official social media channels before the "College GameDay" crew's visit to Salt Lake City, but his reaction has continued to divide opinion.
Former national champion Breiden Fehoko was unamused by former ESPN personality Michelle Beadle, who called McAfee soft for his outsized reaction.
In an appearance on Thursday's segment of the "Dan LeBatard Show," Beadle criticized McAfee's reaction to the Utah video, given the challenges women in the media industry face.
"Just want to remind all your viewers, your listeners, everyone who is fans of you guys, we are constantly told as women that we're hysterical, we're too emotional, we can't handle things," Beadle said. "I can't tell you how many death and [explicit] threats I've gotten via social media in the last, I don't know, since 2009 when we got on Twitter originally.
"I could never be that soft. Never. This has been one of the softest, and we've seen quite a few from some of the people at the top of this food pyramid of sports media… one of the softest reactions to something that was so ridiculously unserious."
During Friday's segment of "The Fehoko Show," Fehoko slammed Beadle for dismissing McAfee's concerns over his safety, especially after prosecutors alleged that Charlie Kirk was assassinated because of his political views last year.
PREDICT THE CFB SEASON: PFN's Free CFB Playoff Predictor
"She says, 'I can never be that soft.' Here's the problem, Michelle, you could say, 'Pat, just ignore these people. Pat, they're internet trolls… these people won't do nothing to you.' That is false," Fehoko said . "Now, whether you liked this guy, whether you hated his political takes, whatever, Charlie Kirk, and Pat McAfee has received similar criticism. People that say, 'I wanna see this guy Kirked.'
"But to sit here and say, 'Pat McAfee, you are soft.' That is wrong, you can't say that Michelle Beadle, because we've seen people get killed over their opinions."
McAfee has strongly divided opinions with his "The Pat McAfee Show" and the guests he has hosted on the platform over the years.
The former Indianapolis Colts punter has also been in the eye of the storm after closely associating with President Donald Trump. His growing role at ESPN, including hosting his show and being an analyst on "Monday Night Countdown" and "College GameDay," has also rubbed some fans the wrong way.
The ESPN personality added to his rant by posting screenshots of some of the death threats that he and his family have received on X.
In the X post , McAfee described the heightened security surrounding the "College GameDay" crew's visit to Knoxville, which came just days after Kirk was assassinated. He said multiple law-enforcement and security agencies were involved, with snipers deployed as part of the precautions.
McAfee also said that, amid concerns about a potential copycat attack, one of the security groups suggested that he wear a bulletproof vest.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
