Jemele Hill Has Problem With How Fans Are Treating Pat McAfee

Jemele Hill believes that sports fans are holding Pat McAfee to a different standard than others on ESPN.

Read more Rita Wilson Sends Fans Into Frenzy With Swimsuit Photo at 69

The former ESPN star called out how fans are treating McAfee, in the wake of a viral clip from his show this week, in which he appeared to be smoking something while on the air for the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

Hill compared the clip of McAfee appearing to smoke to the clip of ESPN WNBA analyst Monica McNutt at the beauty salon, while appearing on the air for the Worldwide Leader in Sports. McNutt faced a lot of backlash for that clip, with many fans calling her unprofessional. The clip came days after ESPN had gone through massive, public layoffs. Many were understandably upset.

But Hill believes that fans are treating McAfee differently than they treated McNutt and others.

Jemele Hill called out those fans on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I’m old enough to remember when the Internet played the professionalism card over Monica McNutt getting a pedicure while doing a SportsCenter but bragging about smoking weed and taking edibles … hilarious! Good TV!” she wrote on X.

Read more NFL Announces Punishment for Caleb Williams Incident Before Vikings Game

“By the way, I have ZERO problem with Pat McAfee doing what does. Get it how you live. I have more of a problem with the hypocrisy.”

‘College GameDay’ joked about McAfee’s behavior, too

ESPN’s “College GameDay” made sure to reference it, too.

“Coach, have you ever used any, like, ancient medicine to potentially calm the boys? Like maybe burn some sage?” McAfee asked Nick Saban.

Kirk Herbstreit responded: “You do that in the studio.”

Saban joked: “I actually think if we had some of your gummies, we would have won more games.”

McAfee clearly doesn’t appear to be in trouble for his behavior on the air, that’s for sure.

Read more Fever Star Caitlin Clark Reacts to Stephanie White’s Unexpected Coaching Comment

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published September 20, 2026 at 9:12 AM.