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Pat McAfee Offers Another Caitlin Clark Apology: Felt Like 'Worst Human on Earth'

Pat McAfee has been on an apology tour after he referred to Caitlin Clark as a "white b----" on Monday.

Josh Wilson

Jun 1, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Retired Indianapolis Colts player and sports analyst Pat McAfee and family attend a game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky at Grainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Michelle Pemberton/INDIANAPOLIS STAR-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 1, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Retired Indianapolis Colts player and sports analyst Pat McAfee and family attend a game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky at Grainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Michelle Pemberton/INDIANAPOLIS STAR-USA TODAY Sports / INDIANAPOLIS STAR-USA TODAY Sports
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Pat McAfee has now apologized twice for a pro-Caitlin Clark rant in which he referred to the Indiana Fever star rookie as a "white b----." McAfee's rant praised the popularity she has helped bring to the WNBA.

McAfee first took to Twitter to apologize for the rant on Monday.

To open his live show on Tuesday, he apologized again in a three-minute explanation.

"When I was saying it I legitimately meant it in a complimentary fashion... As I said it, didn't even think, honestly had no idea, didn't have any idea what was happening on the internet until two and a half hours later, after the show ended that I realized and I started reading through a lot of comments that were being said and I felt like actually the worst human on earth," McAfee said. "Those were not my intentions, but that's how you took it, that's on me, I do apologize."

McAfee went on to defend the sentiment of his words, reiterating that he was trying to make a point that Clark deserves more respect for how she's stimulated a growth of interest in the league.

"I did reach out to Caitlin Clark through the Fever PR, sent an apology, and then got a message back that she said it was all good."

"To the people that got pissed off yesterday and offended, I understand, I learned a lot."

He concluded by explaining to the audience that his program and co-broadcasters -- an undeniably unconventional one for linear TV programming -- often use unconventional slang and friendly jargon to show respect. He nodded to examples of using "dog" as a highly complimentary adjective and a time he called Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes a swear word during an award show.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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