Pat McAfee released his much-anticipated interview with LeBron James on Wednesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show. While there will likely be numerous headlines stemming from the McAfee-James interview (even being discussed on First Take before it even aired), the conversation was difficult to follow at times due to frequent audio drops from the ESPN broadcast.
Throughout the interview, there were literally dozens of instances where audio issues cropped up, causing the sound to drop momentarily. Regular viewers of The Pat McAfee Show were well aware that this was due to LeBron James and Pat McAfee swearing, leading ESPN to cut the audio feed whenever inappropriate language was used. However, for those tuning in for the first time or only catching snippets of McAfee’s show, this led to confusion and complaints regarding ESPN’s audio problems.
Whoever is in charge of editing this LeBron interview is gonna see jail time for the audio. This is horrible @espn @PatMcAfeeShow
— Solo (@likethe_redcup) March 26, 2025
@PatMcAfeeShow your Audio team sucks ass. ESPN trash these days.
— Luke (@LucasGordo5) March 26, 2025
1) Pat McAfee getting LeBron for an hour should quiet McAfee critics. 2) How can you not think even a tiny bit that LeBron went on with McAfee to troll Stephen A? 3) I don’t know why ESPN didn’t just bleep LeBron’s cursing instead of dropping the entire audio every two minutes.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) March 26, 2025
Man what the hell is up with yal audio @espn
— CASH OUT KING (@TheyHateDirt) March 26, 2025
@PatMcAfeeShow bro what’s up with the show always cutting audio for 10-15 secs every few mins?? It got bad in the Lebron interview.
— Piztol (@Piztol234078) March 26, 2025
Yup, choppy as hell..ESPN is getting hacked live
— iEatCode (@vicpal25) March 26, 2025
The audio on this LeBron – Pat Mcafee keeps going out 😤
— Ryan Nelson (@RyanNelson23) March 26, 2025
Pat McAfee… you have LeBron on the show today, why DA FUCK is the audio going in and out!!!! Fix dat weak ass shit!!
— 👹🍃 (@_Metta3Piece) March 26, 2025
The audio issues ESPN has with Pat McAfee’s show is so annoying
— D (@GunslingerViews) March 26, 2025
The pre-recorded interview aired in full on delay the following day. A question raised by many is whether LeBron James and Pat McAfee could have been bleeped for their foul language, rather than having the entire audio feed muted for several seconds at a time. With the frequency of swearing, it might have been a monumental task to edit the content, especially as there were instances of strong language that made it to air amidst the audio disruptions.
Despite the technical difficulties, the content of the interview showcased why Pat McAfee has become a formidable figure in sports media. LeBron James opened up to him in a way rarely seen, highlighting McAfee’s unique ability to connect with stars. Critics might argue that such familiarity compromises the depth of questioning, but McAfee’s style is distinctly different from that of traditional interviewers. LeBron discussed topics like The Decision, his feud with Stephen A. Smith, his relationships with legends like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, and much more. Many viewers likely appreciated seeing this authentic side of LeBron James, at least for the parts they could actually hear.
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