Pat McAfee appeared to make his first public comments about the controversy he’s found himself in after an Ole Miss freshman pointed the finger at him for helping to spread an untrue internet rumor about her.
Mary Kate Cornett, the 19-year-old college student, has taken aim at McAfee and other sports talk personalities that she said have amplified the bizarre rumor that she had been sleeping with her boyfriend’s father.
The salacious rumor captured the imagination of the internet and eventually led to the ex-NFL punter bringing it up on “The Pat McAfee Show,” which airs on ESPN, though he did not name Cornett while discussing the unfounded gossip.
During his live “Big Night Aht” show taking place at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, McAfee addressed the controversy, telling the crowd that he would find “some sort of silver lining in a very terrible situation” while never apologizing for discussing the rumor on his show.
Up until Wednesday night, McAfee and ESPN had remained silent regarding the controversy.
“Just like the current situation that is happening, where I have a lot of people saying that I should be sued. I want to say this: I never, ever want to be a part of anything negative in anybody’s life, ever. That is not what I want to do. For all of these events, you f–king know it that my lawyers are Pittsburgh lawyers and they’re in here tonight. I do believe that they have a suite here that I have certainly contributed to. They have the same mindset as me, empathy but understanding reality.
“We will try to figure that out and make some sort of silver lining in a very terrible situation. You can have that promise from me.”
Cornett has gone on the offensive in pushing back against those she felt helped spread the rumor about her and has threatened legal action against McAfee and ESPN for the role she feels they played.
In rather pointed comments toward McAfee, Cornett told NBC News last week that McAfee “never once reached out to ask me if this was true or for me to give any sort of statement to him.”
She also called it “ridiculous” that a personality who has a show on ESPN would be discussing a 19-year-old college girl’s sex scandal.
Cornett’s lawyer, Monica Uddin, said that just because McAfee didn’t use her client’s name, it wasn’t a “’Get Out of Jail Free’ card.”
“Saying ‘allegedly’ is not a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card,” she said. “These people are responsible for what they have done to her.”
Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown and Barstool Sports personality KFC Barstool have also been criticized for posts they made about the rumor.
