Total Pro Sports
Pat McAfee has finally broken his silence on the false “sex scandal” rumor about Ole Miss student Mary Kate Cornett.
In February, Cornett was the target of an unsubstantiated viral rumor, which McAfee then discussed on his ESPN show.
The 18-year-old was thrown into the middle of a cyberstorm after online posts claimed she was sleeping with the father of her boyfriend, Evan Solis. Mary Kate and Evan, University of Mississippi freshmen, were also forced to deny the claims on Instagram before the authorities were contacted.
The FBI and local police were said to be trying to hunt down the people responsible for the initial posts.
McAfee did not help matters by sharing that information on his widely popular podcast show.
Nearly four months later, McAfee addressed his role in perpetuating the false reporting on his show and said he recently met with Mary Kate Cornett and her family to apologize.
McAfee said he has “since learned” that the rumors about Cornett were “not true” and that his show “played a role in the anguish caused to a great family and especially to a young woman.”
The ESPN host continued, “I think you all know from this show that I never want to be a source of negativity or contribute to another human’s suffering.”
"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 played in his daughter, Mary Kate's, pain." – Pat McAfee apologizing for sharing a false rumor about an 18-year-old Ole Miss student on his show. pic.twitter.com/pdFhAeWkAX
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 23, 2025
McAfee then said he has since gone to talk with Cornett and her family. “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.”
Mary Kate Cornett fought for her name.
The Ole Miss freshman engaged legal representation and stated she intended to sue McAfee, ESPN, and potentially others over what happened to her in February.
“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.”
After meeting with McAfee, who knows if her threat to sue has stopped.
