Count Pat McAfee among those who definitely don’t miss Adrian Wojnarowski.
On back-to-back episodes of The Pat McAfee Show, the former Indianapolis Colts punter tore into Giannis Antetokounmpo for saying he missed Woj, which, of course, some, including McAfee, took as a jab at Shams Charania’s recent reporting on him.
McAfee made no secret of his push for ESPN to hire Shams to replace the current St. Bonaventure men’s basketball general manager. And since then, he’s been taking victory laps over everyone who’s doubted or dissed Charania at ESPN.
Shams is his guy. So, any slight aimed at Shams is basically a personal insult to Pat. He even pointed out how people acted like Woj had died when he announced his retirement from journalism. Sure, Woj is missed by many — and yeah, his absence will undoubtedly be felt this offseason — but McAfee’s not shedding any tears.
That’s not to say Shams feels the same way.
He openly respects Woj, calling him a great mentor who makes him better every day.
“I would like to say, we all in the industry, I think, really miss him,” Charania said. “I worked with him for two years — two, two-and-a-half years — and so I learned a lot. He was a great mentor to me. Taught me a lot. Made me better on a daily basis. And so, that respect is definitely there. So, I definitely miss him, as well. He made me better. But I will say every single day, I’m just focused on what I can control in my job.”
While McAfee is busy tearing down ESPN’s old guard and loudly backing Charania, he doesn’t seem to fully grasp or perhaps doesn’t want to, why so many genuinely miss Woj. At ESPN and the sports media industry itself, Woj leaves a complicated legacy behind, but it’s not that black and white to McAfee. However, to McAfee, missing Woj feels like a direct slight against Shams. And yet, Charania himself openly acknowledges the respect and mentorship Woj provided, crediting him for helping him improve every single day.
Shams and Woj may have been rivals before, but that rivalry feels alive mostly to McAfee these days.