The Athletic has published a story regarding WWE Monday Night Raw color-commentator Pat McAfee which may lead to legal action over a rumor he ‘amplified’ during his February 26 episode of his show on ESPN, which took place the week of the NFL Scouting Combine in McAfee’s hometown of Indianapolis.
McAfee’s featured guest on that episode was ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter who was expecting to discuss the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. However, McAfee first brought up a different topic. McAfee asked Schefter if he had “heard about Ole Miss?” One of McAfee’s companions on the show then chimed in with “There is a ménage à trois…” McAfee then says, “has really captivated the internet…Some Ole Miss frat bro, k? Had a K-D (Kappa Delta) girlfriend.” The report notes McAfee stressfully used the word “allegedly.”
“At this exact moment, this is what is being reported by…everybody on the internet: Dad had sex with son’s girlfriend.” Another one of McAfee companions on the show says, “Not great.” McAfee then says, “And then it was made public…that’s the absolute worst-case situation.” The Athletic add that it was at this point in the show Schefter starts to look confused and uncomfortable, as he attempts to redirect the discussion by asking, “So where is Jaxson Dart in all this?”
It is noted that the 18-year-old college freshman who is the center of the rumor was never named by McAfee. However, McAfee would go on to make a joke about shoehorning Ole Miss fathers into NFL Draft analysis. “We’re just wondering. His dad…We’re just trying to combine evaluate …” Another individual on the show then chimes in by saying, “Ole Miss dads are slinging meat right now.”
The segment, with the unsubstantiated rumor lasted approximately two minutes.
Per The Athletic’s report, the rumor involves college freshman Mary Kate Cornett.
According to the report, five weeks ago, Cornett, who is a first-year student majoring in business, was dating another Ole Miss student. On February 25 a fake claim about her and her boyfriend’s father began to spread on YikYak, which is an anonymous message-based app that is said to very popular among college students. Unfortunately, the false rumor also made its way on the social media platform X. After gaining much traction, it was the topic on various sports talk shows.
As the rumor continued to spread, Cornett removed her name from outside her dorm room, but that did not stop the derogatory messages that were slipped under her door. She was forced to move into emergency housing and switch to online courses.
Also, per The Athletic, during the early morning hours on February 27, Houston police, with guns drawn showed up at her mother’s house, in an apparent case of “swatting.” According to security camera footage and a police report reviewed by The Athletic, the homicide division responded to the call.
Cornett’s phone number was posted online, which resulted in her receiving degrading voicemail messages and text messages, calling her a “whore”, a “slut and telling her she needed to kill herself.
The Athletic states Cornett eventually released a statement on her Instagram calling the accusations “false,” “inexcusable” and “disturbing.” In his own post, Cornett’s boyfriend noted the rumors to be “unequivocally false.” Mary’s father, Justin Cornett posted on his Facebook page that he hired a private investigator to look further into the “defamatory” attack on his daughter. It was also said contacted the Oxford police department, the Ole Miss campus security and the FBI. The Oxford police department has launched their own investigation.
Mary Kate Cornett has hired an attorney and noted that she intends to take action against McAfee, ESPN and potentially others who participated in spreading the rumor.
“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 said that spokesperson from ESPN declined to comment on the matter.
The full story with more details can be read at The Athletics’ website.