Charles Barkley knows a thing or two about dealing with haters, and he offered some of that hard-earned advice with Pat McAfee.
“I was watching you last week and you said people are giving you a hard time for taking your new deal,” Barkley said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday. “Tell them to shut the f–k up.”
McAfee, the titular host, has drawn some criticism since announcing he would be leaving his four-year, $120 million FanDuel contract for a gargantuan ESPN deal on May 16.
Charles Barkley joined the Pat McAfee show, with a little advice for its hosts.Pat McAfee ShowNews of the move was broken by The Post’s Andrew Marchand shortly before McAfee attended Disney upfronts.
The new contract is expected to pay for the former NFL punter eight figures.
Blowback was swift and abundant, with McAfee saying he “didn’t expect” all the criticism and that his social media mentions have been “a little bit more negative.”
Warning: Graphic language
“It’s been tough to go over the mentions,” McAfee said during his May 19 show. “It has been tough out there. I don’t think I expected that. That was a miscalculation … I think the reason I didn’t expect it is because it didn’t even cross my mind…I feel like our people are the ones that were most mad. It’s like, ‘Hey, we have a good history, do we not?’
“I don’t know. I guess not. … Some of the things that are being said are very, very, very rude.”
Barkley, for one, didn’t seem to get why folks are upset with McAfee for taking his show — which he has promised will remain the same with sidekick A.J. Hawk and other on-air cohorts, sans some of the frequent cursing — to the Worldwide Leader.
McAfee and A.J. Hawk have felt the backlash after announcing the show was leaving FanDuel for ESPN.Pat McAfee Show“Who don’t take a better f-cking job?” Barkley asked. “Tell ’em to shut the f–k up.”
