Ex-ESPN host nails network's obsession with Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee
I'm talking, of course, about Stephen A. Smith, who plays card games on his phone when he's supposed to be doing his ostensible job and who seemingly can't finish a sequence on television without berating someone, and about Pat McAfee, the guy who picks needless public fights with musicians and who reportedly amplifies dangerous false rumors about young people with seemingly zero accountability.
It doesn't matter if you're watching a draft, a playoff game, or a (mostly) wholesome home run derby: ESPN will ensure you're likely hearing at least one of these men's voices, whether they fit into the setting or not.
And for no good reason, really.
Sports fans have grown frustrated with ESPN's insistence on shoving two of its biggest names down their throats. This, while failing to highlight some of its more thoughtful talent, like Mina Kimes, Andraya Carter, Don Van Natta Jr., and Seth Wickersham, to name a few. It's not as if the four-letter network is lacking in witty, insightful, and measured personalities. It's just that people like Smith and McAfee tend to lazily drown them out in the worst way.
After McAfee, who is mostly known for talking football, weirdly appeared during the 2025 Home Run Derby, former ESPN host Trey Wingo chimed in on his old employer's insistence on using McAfee and Smith everywhere possible.
To put it lightly, Wingo agreed with the criticisms and, after his past experiences on the job, lamented what the network has become recently:
If this is how Wingo feels about ESPN's fixation with Smith and McAfee, it's probably safe to say he's not the only former or current ESPN employee who feels this way. Unfortunately, it seems like the network will continue pushing full steam ahead with Smith and McAfee yelling at us, er, I mean, analyzing whatever they've been assigned to.
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