Michael Wilbon fires shot at ESPN colleague Pat McAfee during Pardon The Interruption

During his tenure as ESPN’s new golden boy of sports talk, Pat McAfee has provided or been central to no shortage of controversy. And a new ESPN-on-ESPN grievance might’ve just bubbled up.

On a recent episode of “Pardon The Interruption,” co-host Michael Wilbon was asked by fellow co-host Tony Kornheiser his stance on PGA golfers wanting LIV players coming back to the tour to return their LIV earnings. While Wilbon evidently hates the concept of handing his pay back over, McAfee may have caught a stray as he expressed his distaste.

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And Wilbon’s stray toward McAfee had to do with the way different talent at the network seemingly has different license to speak their mind on air.

“I can’t use the words that I would use to the face of any one of those colleagues if they suggested that,” Wilbon said of the idea of returning his earnings, in theory. “I guess if I wore black tank top and I could get away with those words on this show, I would use them. I would use them to their faces. So we can’t even get there.”

McAfee is known for wearing a black tank top on air for his show, a stark departure from the general business attire commonly worn on television, and has not been shy about speaking his mind from his pulpit — even about ESPN and his direct bosses. His public spat with then-ESPN executive Norby Williamson became a notable saga, as McAfee accused the network that had recently signed him for millions of dollars of trying to undermine him. And McAfee was also the safe harbor for Aaron Rodgers to erroneously suggest Jimmy Kimmel was somehow connected to Jeffrey Epstein, which kicked off a news cycle unto itself.

Evidently, Wilbon doesn’t feel he enjoys that same leeway.

Even still, he and Kornheiser managed to complete their point about the PGA Tour without Wilbon stepping on any professional land mines.

“But you can write them down and we can hold them up here,” Kornheiser said of the language Wilbon was refraining from uttering.

Even that, Wilbon said, would probably not be wise.

“I don’t even think I can write them down and hold them up. There would be a suspension coming and I’m not ready for that,” Wilbon said, completing his thought about not giving back any money earned. “So, not only would I not consider it, I would say ‘Get off my lawn, get away from my house, get out of this meeting. I’m not giving blank blank blank with apostrophe s — a DIME back. Not a dime. Go straight to hell.'”