NEED TO KNOW
- The FBI told Pat McAfee to wear a bulletproof vest following Charlie Kirk’s death, according to a report
- McAfee voiced concerns about his safety this week, following his visit to the University of Utah
- The ESPN personality said he felt “uncomfortable” during the College GameDay taping
Pat McAfee is known for ripping his shirt off each Saturday morning on College GameDay, but a new report says the FBI once encouraged the ESPN personality to wear a bulletproof vest for protection as he goes to college campuses.
According to a report from Front Office Sports on Tuesday, Oct. 27, the law enforcement agency told McAfee that he should consider wearing a bulletproof vest the week after Charlie Kirk was killed at Utah Valley University in September 2025.
The FBI declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.
The news comes in the wake of McAfee’s comments this week that he felt unsafe while filming the network’s flagship college sports show last weekend at the University of Utah.
In advance of McAfee’s arrival in Salt Lake City, the university shared a video of students doing impressions of the polarizing sportscaster.
“Did not enjoy University of Utah,” McAfee, 39, said while on The Pat McAfee Show two days later. “You know why I didn’t like it mostly? Right before I go out there, I see the University of Utah’s Instagram page. They put out, do an impression of Pat McAfee, and one kid goes, ‘Ah, he’s corny.’ Another kid calls me creepy.”
He continued, “If these kids would have done this on their own blogs, all good. Everybody’s taking shots at me, anyways, for everything. I get it. If the two ladies that were hosting that put that out on their own blog, I’d be okay with it. You’re allowed to do what you do.”
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“The university puts that out? Like as I’m about to go out and do an infomercial for the place?” McAfee said. “And then I’m walking in front of thousands of these people. This is how the university feels about it? It’s an uncomfortable feeling.”
In the video, a variety of students shared their impressions of the polarizing pundit, which seemingly stirred up feelings of unease for the former NFL punter.
“I thought to myself, has anything, like, really scary happened at a college gathering in the state of Utah recently?” McAfee said, referring to Kirk’s shooting death. “Do we think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts, as a university? I don’t know.”
Sources told Front Office Sports that McAfee regularly receives threatening messages and death threats — all of which is not lost on the network that pays McAfee $30 million a year.
“The safety and security of our on-air team, crew and fans is paramount at College GameDay,” an ESPN spokesperson said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring a safe environment, and given the very real threats that members of our team face, we take issues involving their safety seriously. We support Pat and recognize the very real and valid concerns he has around safety and security.”
Read the original article on People
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