Pat McAfee Should Not Have Apologized For Calling Caitlin Clark A ‘White B*tch’ | Bobby Burack

ESPN host Pat McAfee was the top trending topic on X after a segment on Monday in which he discussed Caitlin Clark. McAfee defended Clark against critics discrediting her for the WNBA's rise in popularity this season.

"There seems to be this notion that this whole evolution of success and popularity in the WNBA is because of this entire rookie class. The media talks about how it’s the entire class," McAfee started. "Nah, just call it for what it is — there’s one white bitch for the Indiana team who is a superstar."

Had McAfee not used the phrase "white bitch," he likely would've fed the outrage machine anyway. Few topics in sports fuel the outrage crowd more these days than someone defending Clark against her mostly black critics/haters.

But because he said "white bitch," well, really, "bitch," the wording was the catalyst for Monday's fury.

Former ESPN and CNN+ host Jemele Hill labeled the comment "totally unacceptable" on X. 

"Referring to Caitlin Clark as ‘the white bitch for Indiana.’ That’s beyond being too comfortable," she wrote. "Just totally unacceptable."

Kendrick Perkins called out McAfee later in the day on ESPN, saying he needs to "respect women."

"Not a single man in that room told Pat McAfee, who openly called Caitlin Clark a "white b****" on national television, that he was wrong - that he shouldn't speak about Caitlin or any woman like that," added a Meghan L. Hall, a reporter for the USA Today.

The outrage goes on, and on, and on … 

McAfee, eventually, issued an apology:

Some fans of McAfee might be surprised to see him apologize. Don't be.

McAfee is not as fearless as he's portrayed. Look how fast he apologized for the drama (regarding Jimmy Kimmel, Dr. Fauci, and Covid) that Aaron Rodgers caused on his show. 

Jason Whitlock said it well: "Pat McAfee is a pretend tough guy. Whenever there’s turbulence, he folds."

Sure, McAfee didn't apologize last year when he referred to longtime ESPN executive Norby Williamson as a "rat" on-air. But he was never going to. That issue was personal to him.

McAfee felt passionately about his criticism of Williamson, in that the executive used leaks to the media to "sabotage" his show. He also knew he could win that battle, as Williamson's time with the company was ticking.

Conversely, McAfee understands accusations of "sexism" are one of the few outcries over which ESPN parent company Disney would not have his back. 

So he, predictably, caved and apologized. 

However, his comment didn't warrant an apology. The outrage is faux. 

Firstly, McAfee's self-produced program is exempt from bans on cursing that restrict other ESPN programming – though he agreed not to say the "f-word" on television.

That's point No. 1.

Secondly, intent matters. 

McAfee did not call Clark a "bitch" in the sense of an unpleasant woman. He was citing how the women on the court feel about Clark – as in, they see her as "that white bitch."

He isn't wrong.

For months, the media has told us that Clark is the beneficiary of "white privilege." In doing so, they are telling the black women that Clark has it better than them because she's white. 

Several WNBA players, including A'ja Wilson, have complained about Clark's supposed "white privilege" publicly. 

Even ESPN host Stephen A. Smith admitted on Monday that race plays a chief role in the animus black women have toward Clark. 

"There are girls – young ladies – in the WNBA who are jealous of Caitlin Clark. She is a white girl that has come into the league," Smith said. "What we’re going to do is give the level of appreciation that it deserves in terms of the venom and potential hostility that exists toward this ‘golden girl’ who happens to be white."

That brings us to last Saturday, when Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter appeared to call Clark a "bitch" and then slammed into her, as her bratty teammate Angel Reese cheered on the shove:

Oh, the number of times the jealous women have called Clark a "bitch," "white bitch," or "white girl," in the locker room or text chain must be in the piles. 

So, what exactly did McAfee do wrong? He didn't do anything wrong.

He's Pat McAfee. He's an entertainer. He had a fun, animated conversation covering the most contentious topic in sports: Caitlin Clark.

See, the mainstreaming of women's sports provides the outrage crowd with new-found fodder. 

Reporters are also pretending to be upset over Stephen A. Smith calling WNBA players "girls" and not "women," despite WNBA regularly referring to their teammates as "girls."

Simply put, outrage is empowering. People looked to be outraged to feel empowered.  

No wonder we are so fragile as a nation.

Ultimately, the likes of Jemele and Perkins are far more concerned with McAfee's word-crime than the very real possibility that the racial hostility they are stoking could result in someone seriously injuring Caitlin Clark on the basketball court.

The wannabe victims are winning. 

They won again on Monday.