Pat McAfee issues groveling apology after | Sports News

Five months after amplifying a false and damaging web rumor about 18‑12 months‑outdated Ole Miss pupil Mary Kate Cornett, ESPN host Pat McAfee issued a deeply contrite on‑air apology on his show this week. It comes as the community nears a large $2 billion deal with the NFL.

The rumor stemmed from nameless X and Snapchat accounts accusing Cornett of sleeping together with her boyfriend’s father in February. Cornett denied the allegations and accused McAfee, in addition to Antonio Brown, of defamation, prompting an apology from Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy, who just lately made his emotions clear in regards to the WNBA’s pay disparity.

“On February 26 of this year, we were down at the Combine on this particular program,” McAfee started, referencing the NFL Combine when the rumor was first introduced up. “We discussed a very viral internet story about an Ole Miss college student.” 

“We weren’t clear at that time where the story originated from. It was all over the internet. Yet by the time we talked about it, the story was everywhere. I have since learned that the story was not true, and that my show played a role in the anguish caused to a great family and especially to a young woman, Mary Kate Cornett.” 

He went on to specific remorse at contributing to the ache felt by Mary Kate and her household. McAfee mentioned, “I think you all know from tuning into this program that I never want to be a source of negativity or contribute to another human’s suffering.”

“And I can now happily share with you that I recently got to meet Mary Kate and her family. And I got a chance to sincerely apologize to them and acknowledge that what I said about Mary Kate was based solely on what others were saying on the internet, or what had previously been reported by others, and that we had no personal knowledge about Mary Kate or her personal life.”

Acknowledging that, as a father of daughters — a “girl dad” — the incident struck a personal chord, McAfee added: “As a Girl Dad, I was very thankful for the opportunity to let Mr. Cornett know that I was wildly regretful for the part that our show, our program, played in his daughter, Mary Kate’s, pain.” 

McAfee additionally provided transparency about why the apology got here a lot later. “I know many of you are wondering why I, or we, haven’t addressed this topic until now. It’s a fair question. But as you might imagine, there was a lot going on behind the scenes since this all happened.”

“The most important element on the timing is that I, personally, … wanted to talk to the family first before addressing it publicly. And I can now say I had the opportunity to meet them, chat with them, and they’re wonderful people. And I’m very thankful that they gave me the opportunity to tell them how sorry I was that this all happened, and that our program was a part of this.” 

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He closed his assertion by reaffirming the mission of his show: “I deeply regret all the pain that this caused. I hated watching what our show was a part of, in her interviews and reading about it. And my hope is that this can be something that we all learn from going forward.” 

“I know we certainly have. Our goal at this show is to make the world a happier place, a better place. To celebrate life and sports and unify folks. I, and we, don’t always get it right. But we’ll never stop trying.”