Pat McAfee sends 3-word message to John Mellencamp as he throws shade at Colts legend in NSFW speech at Pacers-Knicks game

Pat McAfee found himself at odds with another Indiana icon after Game 4 of the Indiana Pacers' second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks. The 2025 Eastern Conference finals have brought out a lot of intensity from both fan bases, with McAfee getting a little too loose before Tuesday's game.

The Indianapolis Colts legend cut a WWE-style promo before the matchup that put the Pacers up 3-1 in their series, by going after Knicks superfans Spike Lee, Ben Stiller and Timothée Chalamet.

On Thursday, singer/songwriter Jon Mellencamp reacted to this promo, throwing shade at McAfee, who also works with WWE and had his boss, Paul Levesque, also known as "Triple H" in the business, in attendance for this game.

Mellencamp shared a lengthy issue on X to criticize the hype up speech.

"The Knicks/Pacers games have been very entertaining for anyone who likes basketball or sports. I attended Game 4 in Indianapolis. "Hoosier Hospitality"... I was embarrassed when somebody, under whose direction I don't know, called out some of the people who had made the trip from New York to support their team - and in turn, support our team.

He added:

"The audience booed these people. I'd say that was not Hoosier Hospitality. One could only say it's poor, poor sportsmanship. I was not proud to be a Hoosier, and I've lived here my entire life. On behalf of most Hoosiers, I would like to apologize for our poor behavior. I'm sure the Pacers had nothing to do with this smackdown. "

Pat McAfee responded to the statement with a three-word message to own up to the situation that "embarrassed" Mellencamp.

"I am 'somebody,'" McAfee quote-tweeted shortly after.

So what did Pat McAfee say? He had an NSFW message for the trio of stars supporting New York.

“Indianapolis, Indiana, we got some bigwigs from the big city in the building. Spike Lee is here. Ben Stiller is here. Timothée Chalamet is here. Let’s send these sons of b-----s back to New York," McAfee had said during Game 4.

Ben Stiller took issue with Pat McAfee's NSFW speech

Hollywood star Ben Stiller, whose affiliation with the Knicks raised some eyebrows this season, addressed the "weird" situation he was in at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in a tweet on X on Tuesday night.

"Yes. Weird. We were happy to be there and cheer our team and other than that Indy fans were awesome. #KNICKSIN7," Stiller wrote.

The Pacers are one win away from advancing to the NBA Finals after 25 years.