In the early aftermath of ESPN NFL analyst Matt Miller’s car accident that led to the amputation of his left arm, his family set up a GoFundMe to accept donations to deal with the incident. Naturally, many of his ESPN co-workers were quick to contribute donations of varying amounts.
Some of those donations poured in from the likes of Pat McAfee, Mel Kiper Jr., Mina Kimes, and Adam Schefter, all very popular people employed by ESPN. Yet, one NFL reporter is now calling foul.
Popular ESPN Personalities Called Out for Helping Matt Miller
At the time, donating to a helpful cause felt like the only thing to do. However, later it was revealed that the Missouri Attorney General had launched an investigation against Miller after the ESPN analyst was accused of mishandling charity fantasy football leagues set up by him, as well as for not providing the service for the scouting lessons he offered, and questions were raised about “the legitimacy of the charity fundraisers he routinely held.”
But now, Tony Farmer, the host of the “Last Men Standing” podcast, took to X to state his belief that those donations could have been put to better use elsewhere. He started calling out Miller’s co-workers by name.
“Pat McAfee, Mel Kiper, Mina Kimes, Adam Schefter, these people have all donated to Matt Miller’s GoFundMe page,” Farmer said. “I don’t have a huge problem with that because he’s apparently a friend of theirs. Maybe they don’t have all the facts; there’s some fair reasons for why they might make that donation.”
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Farmer suggests those donations could simply have been rerouted to the alleged victims affected by Miller’s reported failure to pay out several reward offerings over the years.
“What I don’t understand is simultaneously ignoring the alleged victims,” Farmer added. “You could have made donations to the alleged victims, paid them off, helped your friend out, and killed two birds with one stone. But instead, you’re ignoring the victims. These people are not hard to find. They’re providing receipts. I’ve had dozens of alleged victims DM me on Twitter. You’re a reporter; you have the ability to verify their claims. But you’re making a choice to ignore the alleged victims and help out Matt Miller at the same time.”
Then, Farmer took things up a notch by questioning whether ESPN employees who donated to Miller’s GoFundMe and have since stayed silent “have any empathy?”
“Do you have any empathy?” Farmer asked. “Have you thought about what that might feel like for an alleged victim who’s struggling financially right now, maybe going through a hardship, maybe having a hard time paying their rent, and realizing, wow, that money I gave to Miller might have maybe been fraudulent, it’s being investigated by the AG in Missouri. While you’re struggling with that, you see these donations roll in for Matt Miller from these ESPN personalities. Have you thought about that slap in the face?”
Even the ESPN employees may not be too clued into what was happening with Miller behind the scenes. They’ve gotten a chance to personally speak to and get to know Miller by working with him at ESPN, and are seemingly giving him the benefit of the doubt here. Still, Farmer can’t help but wonder if any of them are privately regretting that decision.
