ESPN’s Golden Goose, Pat McAfee, has announced that he’s been diagnosed with Thin-Skin: a debilitating condition known to make one extremely sensitive.
Speculation of McAfee’s condition began this past weekend when he visited the University of Utah to film ESPN’s College Gameday. Prior to McAfee’s arrival, he was made aware of a video on social media1 where a student called him "corny" and "creepy." McAfee would later say those comments made him feel unsafe and even fear for his life, referencing the assassination of Charlie Kirk as the basis of his fear:
“I thought to myself: Has anything really scary happened at, like, a college gathering in the state of Utah recently? Do you think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a university?"
While this reaction to a seemingly harmless video might appear to be a bit much, it all makes sense now after McAfee revealed his diagnosis of Thin-Skin.
Although this past weekend was an evident display of McAfee’s diagnosis, the sleeveless host said he became aware of his condition this August when his country-rap album was released and the three listeners asked him to "unrelease it."
Upon his album flopping, McAfee’s family witnessed outbursts where he would murmur phrases such as "How could this be?! I’m ESPN’s Golden Goose, after all!" and "Shouldn’t the crowds clamor to see me rip my sleeves off once more?" That’s when his family begged him to get tested and the diagnosis came back positive: Thin-Skin it was.
While the condition is curable, the symptoms for Thin-Skin could include:
Defensiveness
("I don’t have Thin-Skin")Calling yourself "polarizing"2
("I’m not wrong, just polarizing")Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and upset stomach
(Sweat mouth, puking, shitting, not shitting, and hurt tummy)
In an effort to help McAfee with his Thin-Skin condition, the University of Utah apologized for the video3 where a student call him "corny," and ESPN called McAfee’s concerns "very real" and "valid."4
ESPN Stands by McAfee’s ‘Very Real and Valid’ Concerns From Utah | Front Office Sports