Pat McAfee apologizes, but furor over Rodgers' comments on McAfee's show has continued

ESPN host Pat McAfee apologized for "being a part of it" after ex-Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers spoke Tuesday on McAfee's show and casually inferred late-night host Jimmy Kimmel would appear on the list of associates connected to accused sex trafficker and child abuser Jeffrey Epstein.

But though Rodgers has made headlines for the topics he's discussed on McAfee's show before, this one seems to have struck a particular nerve. Kimmel, who posted a strong rebuke to Rodgers later that night, and Rodgers have a little bit of history, but national outlets have written that, even for Rodgers, this particular attempt at jocularity went too far.

McAfee opened his show Wednesday by acknowledging the controversy caused by Rodgers' comments.

“There could be some things that were certainly, probably — I mean, we’re gonna have to hear from Aaron on that — meant to be a sh-- talk joke that can then become something that is obviously a very serious allegation, that then leads to a massive overnight story," McAfee said. “We obviously don’t like the to be associated with anything negative, ever. We’d like our show to be an uplifting one a happy one a fun one, but it’s because we talk sh-- and try to make light of everything.

“Some things obviously people get very pissed off about, especially when they’re that serious allegations,” McAfee continued. “So we apologize for being a part of it. I can’t wait to hear what Aaron has to say about it. Hopefully those two will just be able to settle this, you know, not work-wise, but be able to chit chat and move along.”

McAfee said he could understand why Kimmel would get upset, but also tried to present the point of view of Rodgers, a recurring guest for years who's being paid to appear.

“I don’t think he meant anything else, but he’s gonna have to clarify that for us," McAfee said.

More: Who is Pat McAfee and how did his show become a sounding board for Aaron Rodgers?

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But this story won't go away quickly. Consider some of the national reaction:

Columnist Mike Freeman: 'Rodgers wasn't just talking smack'

USA TODAY columnist Mike Freeman called the episode a "new low" for Rodgers with a "grudge-filled attack."

"But Rodgers wasn't just talking smack," Freeman wrote. "Saying you're going to defeat your buddy in fantasy football is talking trash. What Rodgers did was a universe beyond talking trash. … A star like Rodgers, with his own platform, magnified by McAfee's, transforms it into toxic sewage."

There's the added element of inter-office conflict in play. ESPN, the network that airs McAfee's show, and ABC, the network airing "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on weeknights, are both owned by the Disney corporation.

Jemele Hill: No greater sin than 'talent-on-talent crime' at Disney

Former ESPN personality Jemele Hill said "there's no more offensive crime in the universe of ESPN or Disney" than "talent-on-talent crime."

"And there’s a part of me that wonders is this going to be the end of the weekly Aaron Rodgers appearances?" Hill mused as a guest on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz." "Maybe not right now in the moment. But looking down the line, at some point, if you’re ABC or ESPN or those people who get paid to make these decisions, you wonder, ‘Is it worth it to have him on if, every week, there is going to be some kind of headline of him saying something and us making headlines for the wrong reasons?'”

CNN host Jake Tapper takes Rodgers to task: 'This is child sex trafficking we're talking about. That's not funny.'

CNN host Jake Tapper devoted a segment to the Rodgers/Kimmel fiasco in an interview with Julie DiCaro of Deadspin.

"False, defamatory, wildly irresponsible and not funny if Rodgers was trying to be funny," Tapper said. "This is child sex trafficking we're talking about. That's not funny."

"I guess (Disney CEO) Bob Iger now has a question. Does he allow ESPN and this nitwit — I'm not talking about McAfee — to continue to have this forum, even when they're smearing somebody who's been working for ABC, I think, for more than 20 years now."

"I don't know if Rodgers thinks this makes him look good," Tapper concluded. "I think it makes him look pathetic."

Will New York Jets intervene?

WFAN (New York sports radio) host Gregg Giannotti said that New York Jets owner Woody Johnson needs to shut down Rodgers' appearance for the good of the franchise.

“If I’m Woody Johnson, I’ll find a way to get you whatever you’re getting paid from McAfee," he said Wednesday on “Boomer and Gio." “I’ll put you in charge, you can be the CEO of Q-tips over at Johnson & Johnson. Whatever it is, I’ll get you that million dollars. ... You can’t do the show anymore. You can’t. You’re killing us. You killed us for an entire year. Everybody has to respond to it. The team has to respond to it.”

Ben Axelrod of the popular sports-media coverage hub Awful Announcing also wondered if this marked the end for Rodgers on the McAfee show.

"Only complicating the situation is that ESPN has clearly made McAfee one of its marquee talents since signing the NFL punter-turned-media mogul to a high-profile deal last year. And McAfee is clearly loyal to Rodgers and seemingly sensitive to the idea that ESPN would have any editorial control over his show."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Aaron Rodgers/Pat McAfee controversy leads national writers to opine