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The Athletic, which is owned by The New York Times, has released a disturbing story covering actions on his ESPN show by WWE Raw announcer Pat McAfee, which may lead to legal action.
The story noted that on the February 26, 2025 edition of The Pat McAfee show on ESPN, NFL Insider Adam Schefter was a guest on the show, which was taking place during the annual NFL Scouting Combine in McAfee's home of Indianapolis, IN. The story notes that out of nowhere, McAfee referenced a "report" that emanated on social media that asserted an 18 years old female University of Mississippi freshman had cheated on her boyfriend with his father. The story reports that Schefter tried to bring the conversation back to the NFL draft status of Mississippi Quarterback Jaxson Dart, but McAfee and his crew stayed in shock jock mode, talking about the supposed story concerning the young woman. After they exhausted the topic, they then went on to talk about the NFL draft outlook for Dart.
The young woman was not mentioned by name by McAfee. The woman he was referring to is named Mary Kate Cornett. As it turned out, the "story" about her was started on something called YikYak, which allows people to post things anonymously and is popular among college students. The "story" then carried over to X and went viral, including people taking a picture of her from her Instagram account and inserting it in posts, according to The Athletic. At that point, her identity was out to the public.
McAfee was not alone in addressing the "story" as two Barstool personalities are alleged to have done so as well, as did others.
Cornett asserts that after the widespread publicity, she was harassed at her college dorm and had to move to emergency housing and take her courses online. The article also reports that police were sent to her mother's home in Houston, TX in an apparent case of swatting, which was verified by a police report and security footage.
Cornett also asserts that after her phone number was posted online, she received numerous vile voicemails.
She and her boyfriend were forced to release statements calling the story false and the family is now seeking action from authorities, seeing if any charges could be pressed. The story noted that, "Cornett engaged legal representation and said she intends to take action against McAfee and ESPN, which airs his show, and potentially others involved in spreading the rumor."
Cornett added, “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.”
She has hired legal counsel in her native Houston, TX.
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