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“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.”

Mellencamp’s use of the “smackdown” appears to be a thinly veiled reference to McAfee, who is a color commentator and occasional wrestler for WWE.

“Friday Night SmackDown” is one of the organization’s signature TV shows.

He threatened Georgetown Law for allegedly promoting and teaching diversity, prompting a smackdown from Dean William Treanor.

However, Thurston's research suggests that Raw and Smackdown viewership has since levelled off to numbers seen on USA.