Pat McAfee set to face career-altering lawsuit after using false rumor to chase clout ‘destroyed teenager’s life’

Pat McAfee's show in conjunction with ESPN has soared in popularity and has nearly three million subscribers on YouTube.

Pat McAfee set to face career-altering lawsuit after using false rumor to chase clout ‘destroyed teenager’s life’

Mary Kate Cornett is preparing a lawsuit to go against Pat McAfee and ESPN (Image via Open Source/X)

Former NFL punter and kickoff specialist Pat McAfee has become successful in the world of media. The 37-year-old’s The Pat McAfee Show started as a podcast and now enjoys nearly three million subscribers on its YouTube channel.

Along with that, his simulcast deal with ESPN has helped his stature grow to the extent that superstars from different mediums want to be on his show. His rise to fame has been such that sporting leagues want him to be a part of their events.

That fame, though, received a major spike when McAfee and his panel brought up a rumor about an Ole Miss freshman Mary Kate Cornett. The rumor was that the college student allegedly had a relationship with her boyfriend’s father.

But even though it was a rumor, Pat McAfee and his crew decided to bring it up when Adam Schefter was speaking about Ole Miss’ QB Jaxson Dart. Schefter might have been uncomfortable with the discussion, but the crew were having a ball of a time discussing an unsubstantiated rumor on their show.

That reference and discussion on the show became the catalyst for that rumor to spread. Soon it caught the attention of former NFL star Antonio Brown, Barstool Sports personalities KFC Barstool and Jack Mac, along with ESPN’s St. Louis radio show. The rumors spread far and wide enough that it started to get back at Mary Kate Cornett.

Now, as per The Athletic, vile messages and threats were thrown in her direction. She had to move out of Ole Miss’ campus and move into an emergency housing. At the same time, she and her family have been facing the wrath.

Mary Kate Cornett wants Pat McAfee and ESPN to pay

Watching this get out of hand, Mary Kate Cornett and her boyfriend came out with statements condemning these false accusations. The former is now taking a step further as she has decided to go after Pat McAfee and ESPN for blowing this rumor up.

I would like people to be held accountable for what they’ve done. You’re ruining my life by talking about it on your show for nothing but attention, but here I am staying up until 5 in the morning, every night, throwing up, not eating because I’m so anxious about what’s going to happen for the rest of my life.

The Athletic quoted Mary Kate Cornett

The Athletic reached out to ESPN, McAfee, KFC Barstool, and Jack Mac, but are yet to receive any comment. Their PR teams might be working in overdrive to try and fix this before it affects their careers. However, the starting point is Pat McAfee and ESPN.

Therefore, it is likely that the two will face the most heat. Cornett’s legal representatives are looking into all the facts that brought this situation on to their client. They are looking at everyone who profited from this rumor.

If implicated, Pat McAfee will lose out a lot

Pat McAfee probably thought it was a harmless joke when he and his crew discussed this matter on live television. He has done similar things in the past, as it goes along with his humorous take on almost all the discussions.

Pat McAfee has tried to brush aside controversial topics before
Pat McAfee has tried to brush aside controversial topics before (Image via Imago)

Those humorous takes on sports topics have helped him gain the near three million subscribers. It proves his show has a lot of fans. At the same time, he has also brought up some controversial topics. He has managed to brush controversy aside by claiming he is not a real journalist.

This time, though, it might be different. No amount of disclaimers or apologies can help avoid a lawsuit if a judge believes the show has harmed someone. Katie Strang, the journalist who published this story, is known for her investigative journalism.

She has worked to publish articles about some other high-profile s**ual assault cases in the past. This means Strang must have conducted an investigation before publishing this story. If anything, this could end up costing Pat McAfee and ESPN a lot of face, along with a lot of money too.

Related: Cam Newton vows to tone down on cussing publicly after repeated pleas from well-wishers