If you were hoping to tune in to the latest episode of the What Tho the Pods podcast, you won’t be able to find it anymore. In fact, the podcast formerly known as A Notre Dame Freakin’ Podcast appeared to have deleted its entire feed after comments from a recent episode went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Notre Dame opens its 2025 college football season with a road game against the Miami Hurricanes, recalling an era when that matchup might have determined who’d win the national title. And every Notre Dame podcaster trotted out their game preview episode this week.
What Tho the Pods, a Notre Dame podcast hosted by Jonathan Spadea, Ryan Downey, Chase Gund, and Robbie Rhinesmith, released their preview episode on Wednesday. During that discussion, Downey shared his thoughts on each team’s advantage, resulting in a soundbite that took aim at the notion that Miami football players are “unintelligent thugs.”
“The biggest advantage that Notre Dame has is that Miami is a bunch of unintelligent thugs that just play instinctually and not wisely,” said Downey. “And the best thing about Miami for their purposes is that they’re a bunch of unintelligent thugs who just play instinctively. So it’s the best and the worst thing about Miami.”
These Notre Dame Podcasters are out here talking crazy😳🤯 pic.twitter.com/u0jVa2ThIU
— Grant Speaks (@GrantSpeaks1) August 29, 2025
Not great.
One caveat we would like to add is that since the podcast feed has been deleted across all platforms, including the YouTube video from which the clip was pulled, we’re unable to determine if there is any further context that might clarify the intention behind the comments.
Lacking any further context, that clip went viral on Friday, and at some point, What Tho the Pods seemingly ceased to exist. At least for now.
The comments echo old sentiments about the Notre Dame-Miami rivalry, perhaps best summed up by the “Catholics vs. Convicts” phrase popularized by Notre Dame fans to describe the 1988 game at the height of their rivalry.
Outright racism from Notre Dame podcast. Perhaps they thought nobody would hear it given their lack of subscribers.
The masks are off. And given how they look physically, the masks should probably stay on. https://t.co/Zy74lyFXzo
— CanesInSight (@CanesInSight) August 29, 2025
According to BroBible, Downey offered an apology to anyone offended by the comments before making his X profile private.
“Not sure if you saw…I was shocked and surprised to see people thinking this had any sort of racist undertones. It did not. Sorry if I offended anyone. I only meant players out there picing fights, only hitting hard, taking dumb penalties. Truly sorry.”
The glee on these doofus’ face as they call a college football team “unintelligent thugs” is how I know podcast microphones are too cheap. We gotta start confiscating them. https://t.co/SsW6mEgcsn
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) August 29, 2025
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.