Pat McAfee’s goal is that “mass exits” never happen again at ESPN.

McAfee, who recently signed a five-year, $85 million contract with the network, was the target of a lot of criticism in the past day after ESPN laid off a number of high-profile on-air personalities.

On Friday night, McAfee said he is still “pumped” to join ESPN and reacted to the news.

“I did a lot of reflecting about our show’s journey while I was getting murdered on the internet today,” he started. All roads lead back to how honored I am to be the leader of such a talented group and how lucky I am to be a part of this team.

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“We do our thing. We enjoy ourselves. And we never blink. Basement, box truck, world stoppage… you name it, the show rolls on.

“We’re very pumped to be joining ESPN and our goal is that ‘mass exits’ are never a thing again. We hope to help that. Obviously that’s a lofty goal, but that’s how I truly look at life. I wish we could’ve worked alongside a lot of the folks that got released today. Some absolute legends, that we all respect, in the sports media world were trending today for losing jobs. That sucks, no matter how you slice it.

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“We’re gonna continue to control the things we can control, try to do daily sports coverage in an entertaining and informative fashion and be thankful for all of the opportunities that have been earned through a lot of hard work and commitment from the group of dudes I get to call coworkers.

“Have an incredible weekend. Cheers from all of us at #PMSLive.”

The cuts are part of the plan by The Walt Disney Co. to lay off thousands of employees – including ESPN as part of a previously announced plan to eliminate 7,000 jobs this year.

The job cuts include entertainment, ESPN, parks, experiences and products. The company previously said that it doesn’t expect the job cuts to impact hourly frontline operations roles at its parks and resorts.

Disney CEO Bob Iger had announced in February that the company was going to cut about 7,000 jobs as part of an ambitious companywide cost-savings plan and “strategic reorganization.” The job cuts amount to about 3% of the entertainment giant’s global workforce.

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Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.