Concerns over ESPN personality Pat McAfee’s safety were serious enough following the assassination of Charlie Kirk that the FBI advised the sports media personality to wear a bulletproof vest, according to a new report.
The FBI recommended McAfee to do so the week after the September 2025 killing of the right-wing political activist, a source told Front Office Sports in a report published Tuesday.
The report also stated that McAfee receives threatening messages, along with death threats, regularly.
An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request from The Post for comment.
The news comes as the latest development in a busy cycle involving the popular sports talk host, which began after a toned-down performance by McAfee during Saturday’s “College GameDay” show at the University of Utah.
McAfee took issue with the way he was treated by the university and its students, starting with a video produced in conjunction with the school where students did impressions of McAfee. He felt they were “talking trash.
He was also left feeling irked by the student in the kicking contest, as she complained that she could “only” win $1 million.
The former Colts punter dedicated time on his eponymous talk show on Monday to call out the treatment, saying that he “never felt more uncomfortable” than he did during Saturday’s “GameDay.”
He also made several allusions to the slaying of Kirk, who was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University a little more than a year ago.
“I thought to myself: Has anything really scary happened at, like, a college gathering in the state of Utah recently?” McAfee said during Monday’s “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“Do you think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a university? I don’t know. So it was just a lot of mixed feelings for me going out there. Then the kicker goes, ‘Only one million dollars?’ Only one million dollars? It’s like, alright, I hate this place. They have a good football team, though.”
The new context around the safety concerns McAfee reportedly faced following Kirk’s death provides some insight into where the apparent references to Kirk during his show came from.
ESPN released a statement on Monday night backing McAfee.
“The safety and security of our on-air team, crew and fans is paramount at ‘College GameDay,’” the network said. “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.”
The University of Utah also released an apology on Monday night in which it apologized for the video, which “missed the mark” after it was intended to create “light-hearted engagement regarding Pat being back on campus.”
“University staff are responsible for reviewing and posting content on official social media accounts and we take full accountability for that decision,” the school said.
“University officials have reached out to Pat to express appreciation and regret. We sincerely apologize for creating any perception that Pat was unsafe or unwelcome on our campus. Nothing could be further from the truth. Pat and the entire GameDay crew are always welcome at the University of Utah and we deeply appreciate the opportunity ESPN provides to showcase our university and community.”
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