Mike Ryan calls Pat McAfee a ‘pawn’ of Trump administration after Patriot Games

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Credit: The Dan Le Batard Show; Rapid Response 47 on X

Despite both he and ESPN repeatedly trying to distance themselves from politics, Pat McAfee was front and center at the finale of the inaugural Patriot Games on Tuesday night alongside President Donald Trump and executives from ESPN and Disney.

McAfee greeted the president outside Air Force One in Cleveland before joining him for a grand entrance into the Patriot Games field and sitting to watch the event with him. Also in attendance were Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro and ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro.

It was the latest in a series of crossovers between McAfee and the administration, and was heavily promoted by the White House on its social media channels.

And while discussing the event Wednesday morning on The Dan Le Batard Show, longtime producer Mike Ryan (who is increasingly willing to clash with other sports hosts over politics) ripped the Patriot Games as “propaganda” before calling McAfee a “pawn” of the administration and suggesting McAfee’s engagement with Trump was far more purposeful than McAfee lets on.

“It’s just using sport literally as propaganda with the supreme leader watching from the stands, a vision of what America ‘should’ look like, and it’s hugely embarrassing,” Ryan said. “And straight up, if it were happening in another country, you would say, ‘Oh, that’s so on the nose for Putin.’ Creating this whole thing to justify and normalize his entire administration.

“And Pat McAfee is right there beside him being a pawn, willing or unwilling. I think we’re at the point where we need to stop underselling whether or not he’s willing. Seems pretty damn willing and smart, and I’m sure he’s gonna be super defensive about it later today on his show.”


If nothing else, Ryan correctly predicted that McAfee would respond to the criticism on his show. The ESPN host acknowledged that engaging with Trump can be unpopular, but claimed his eagerness to do so came out of his desire to encourage competition and fitness for young Americans. McAfee also, on-air and on X, used the dispute to plug his forthcoming musical album.

Ryan and the Le Batard Show crew have reason to take note of McAfee’s behavior as one of the faces of ESPN. When the Miami-based show existed under the ESPN umbrella, it frequently drew the ire of network executives when it waded into politics and social issues.

But few, if any, ESPN hosts have gone as far as McAfee in their embrace of politics. After interviewing Trump on air last year and frequently opining on political issues during Trump’s second term, McAfee has now stepped even further out on a limb by aligning with the president publicly.

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