ESPN’s Pat McAfee apologized to a University of Mississippi student Wednesday after he advanced a viral story about the woman’s sex life during an episode of his show in February.

The rumor turned out to be untrue.

The 19-year-old and her family ended up posting a response to the internet allegations on her father’s Facebook page. In it, she accused the Plum native’s program — as well as former Steeler Antonio Brown and Barstool Sports — of spreading “categorically false and defamatory information.”

Mary Kate Cornett later told NBC that she intended to take legal action against McAfee and ESPN for helping spread the rumor. McAfee hadn’t directly addressed the situation for five months before finally apologizing Wednesday during his show.

“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,” McAfee said. “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.”

The former West Virginia Mountaineer also discussed why it took so long for him to discuss the situation.

“I know many of you are wondering why I, or we, haven’t addressed this topic until now. It’s a fair question,” McAfee added. “As you might imagine, there was a lot going on behind the scenes since this all happened. The most important element of the timing is that it was a decision I made. (I) wanted to talk to the family first before addressing it publicly. And I can now say that 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.”

McAfee did not say if this was part of some sort of legal settlement with the family.

During his “Big Night Aht” event at PPG Paints Arena in April, McAfee made a reference to the incident, but stopped short of a full apology, saying he was going to “make some sort of silver lining in a very terrible situation.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)