2 Sports Media Figures Regret Roles in Rumor

Dave Portnoy, Pat McAfee address false story about a Mississippi college freshman
Posted Apr 11, 2025 11:15 AM CDT
2 Sports Media Figures Regret Roles in Rumor
Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy attends an NCAA college basketball game in a 2022 photo.   (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Two prominent figures in the world of sports media are expressing regret over their roles in spreading a malicious and false rumor about a female college freshman. The incident involves 19-year-old University of Mississippi student Mary Kate Cornett, who has been threatening legal action. Somewhere in the dark recesses of the internet, a rumor emerged that she was sleeping with the father of her boyfriend. Pat McAfee talked about it on his ESPN show, and hosts with Dave Portnoy's Barstool Sports platform also amplified it.

  • Portnoy: "It's a vicious rumor," Portnoy tells NBC News. "I'm sad, and I wish we didn't play any part in it." He said he wants to meet with Cornett and her family. "Morally we were wrong," he said, adding that he wanted to vomit when his platform was linked to amplifying the rumor.
  • McAfee: At a live forum in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, McAfee didn't quite apologize when briefly discussing the incident, but he called it a "very terrible situation," per the Athletic. McAfee said he didn't "want to add any more negativity" to the controversy and said he would try to "make some sort of silver lining" out of it. "You can have that promise from me. It won't be as impossible to be a fan of mine going forward."
(More Dave Portnoy stories.)

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