ESPN Apologizes for Aaron Rodgers’s Distasteful Comment on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’
ESPN initially declined to comment after New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers falsely implied that the name of late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel would appear on the leaked list of associates of deceased and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. That changed on Friday.
After public backlash and even a threat of legal action from Kimmel toward Rodgers, the network has apologized for the Jets QB’s comment in a statement by ESPN senior vice president of production Mike Foss, per Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports on X, formerly Twitter.
Foss said that Rodgers’s comment about Kimmel “never should have happened,” adding that he believes the Jets QB’s role with The Pat McAfee Show "will continue to evolve."
When the topic of the Epstein list came up during the Tuesday episode of McAfee’s show, Rodgers said “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel who are hoping that doesn’t come out … if that list comes out, I will definitely be popping some sort of bottles.”
Kimmel later took to X later on Tuesday and ripped Rodgers in a fiery response, threatening to sue the four-time NFL MVP if he kept making comments like that one.
If Rodgers’s comments weren’t enough, ESPN seems to be facing an inner conflict with McAfee, who accused network executive Norby Williamson of attempting to “sabotage” his show, a claim the network addressed in a statement.
McAfee has said that Rodgers still will appear on the show this coming Tuesday.
