ESPN Boss Jimmy Pitaro Wanted Pat McAfee To Fact Check Aaron Rodgers' Kimmy Kimmel Joke In Real Time
The news cycle may have long passed and forgotten Aaron Rodgers making a joke about Jimmy Kimmel sweating the release of the Jeffrey Epstein client list during an appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ in January, but that doesn't mean ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro has moved on.
As a quick refresher, the highly-talked-about moment came just after the new year when Rodgers was discussing NFL conspiracy theories with McAfee, specifically the Super Bowl logo conspiracy.
Co-host AJ Hawk wasn't keeping up with the conspiracy and decided to throw out the question "Does this have something to do with the Epstein list?" Rodgers immediately cracked a smile and stated "That’s supposed to be coming out soon, a lot of people — including Jimmy Kimmel — are really hoping that doesn’t come out."
Most listeners understandably thought Rodgers was implying Kimmel's name may be on the Epstein list. This led Kimmel to threaten legal action against the quarterback and the back-and-forth dominated headlines for weeks on end.
Given that the moment occurred on ESPN, which shares Walt Disney ownership with ABC, it was an inner-office war so to speak. One ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro didn't exactly love watching unfold.
READ: Pat McAfee Says Both Sides Are Trying To Cancel Him, Claims Politics Are Tearing People Apart
According to a new profile on Pitaro and ESPN's next steps in the Wall Street Journal, the ESPN boss would have rather seen McAfee fact-check Rodgers in real-time instead of making the comment in jest.
"The comment threatened to land the network in hot water. Frustrated, Pitaro told McAfee that such incidents needed to be avoided, and that conspiracy theories by guests should be fact-checked in real-time, according to people familiar with their exchange," according to the Wall Street Journal.
A week after Rodgers' remark about Kimmel and Epstein, McAfee announced that the quarterback's regular guest appearances were done for the remainder of the NFL season. Yet, just 24 hours later, Rodgers was back on the ESPN airwaves with McAfee to react to Bill Belichik's exit as the New England Patriots' head coach.
"But Pitaro was still expecting a heads up—and didn’t get one. In the parlance of Pitaro’s management motto, he wasn’t "aligned" with McAfee," the WSJ piece noted.
Pitaro not being "aligned" with McAfee, and certainly not Rodgers, is the least surprising statement imaginable.
READ: Pat McAfee Is Winning ESPN Power Struggle, And Isn't Afraid To Say So | Bobby Burack
Things were turned up to 100 again not long after the Rodgers mess when McAfee aired complaints about ESPN executive Norby Williamson, by name, during his show accusing him of leaking ratings.
According to the Journal, ESPN privately reprimanded McAfee for his comments about Williamson while publicly releasing a statement showing support of both him and Williamson.
ESPN Open To Talking More Politics
While the inside perspective of the McAfee-Pitaro dynamic at ESPN is noteworthy in the Journal's latest piece, the four-letter network is apparently ready to dive into political issues more often.
"Pitaro has become more open to the idea of network personalities weighing in on hot-button social and political issues," according to the Journal.
Surely this has nothing to do with the Presidential election coming up in November. It's time to start preparing for the ‘go vote’ messaging across ESPN while every personality will only be insinuating one candidate on one side of the aisle.