Hours after Pat McAfee apologized for calling Kaitlyn Clark a “white bitch,” he used a similar term during WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” broadcast.
When Braun Strowman, who McAfee has reportedly called a “big motherfucker” in the past, walked to the ring wearing a cutoff shirt with the nickname on it, McAfee said, “That’s a big white motherf*cker.”
WWE did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment.
It all started early Monday morning when McAfee opened his show talking about WNBA rookies and how the Indiana Fever star stood out above the rest, including Cameron Brink (No. 2 overall), Camila Cardozo (No. 3) and Angel Reese (No. 6).
There has been a lot of discussion, debate and opinion about how Clark and other WNBA rookies have contributed to the growth of the sport, especially after Saturday’s incident when Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter hip-checked Clark to the ground and Reese appeared to celebrate her teammate’s hard foul from the bench.
“I’m not going to say anything about the players on the court. A player is a player. If he thinks he’s going to get on someone’s nerves by punching them or saying stupid things, he’s going to do what he’s going to do,” McAfee said on the show.
“But I would say to the sports media and former WNBA players: There seems to be this idea that the WNBA has become so successful and popular because of the rookies, but that may be wrong. Anytime Chicago’s Chennedy Carter goes to Kaitlyn, I think there’s an opportunity.” [Sky rookie] Angel Reese is excited and celebrating, but I think that’s because she thinks she deserves more recognition than she gets. Kaitlyn is getting all this recognition, and a lot of the sports media is like, ‘These are the elite athletes. These rookies are only getting what they deserve,’ and it’s funny.
Reese told reporters Monday that she also gives credit for the sport’s growth and that it’s “not just because of one person.”
McAfee apologized for his portrayal of Clark late Monday afternoon, adding that he had apologized to the former University of Iowa star and revealing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday that Clark is “totally fine.”
“Obviously, this was a huge blunder on my part, and I apologize for that,” McAfee said Tuesday. “I reached out to Caitlin Clark through Fever and sent her a message of apology, and she responded by saying everything’s OK, there’s no blood, we’re moving forward. She appreciates that we reached out and that we apologized, so I obviously feel a little better. But I understand the people who were upset and offended yesterday. I’ve learned a lot.”
This marks the second week in a row that McAfee’s appearance on “Monday Night Raw” has sparked controversy.
He said on his show on May 27 that Raiders owner Mark Davis, 69, and Hayden Hopkins, 26, were expecting a child. This was a false rumor circulating on social media, which Hopkins addressed in a post after which he revealed that Nationals’ Joey Gallo was the baby’s father.
McAfee apologized on his show the next day.
