“The Pat McAfee Show” has been the backdrop of some steaming controversy over the past week. It facilitated the ascension of the LeBron James-Stephen A Smith beef. McAfee himself was a mere spectator, though. Not getting his hands dirty by taking sides. But before this latest one, Pat McAfee was right at the epicenter of a different controversy via his show. Fanning the flames of an online theory that, turns out, was false. Which has landed him in some hot water.

Harp back to the NFL Combine. An Indy native, Pat McAfee was extra zealous during his broadcasts from the event. A little less uptight, and he’s not very uptight anyway! This may have cost him dearly. Simultaneous to the Combine, there was a “news” story floating on the airwaves about Ole Miss. A father, a son and the son’s girlfriend. The chronically online ones remember. For the uninitiated, let’s just say it was rumoured the father and the girlfriend had an entanglement. Due to the nature of this rumour, it spread quickly- without much care for its legitimacy. It spread so far out it spilled into the mainstream via McAfee’s show. 

Pat McAfee brought up the rumour during a segment with NFL insider Adam Schefter. Schefter, seemingly unaware, listened in as McAfee and his “Stooges” contextualized the situation without being very detailed and avoiding trouble- or so they thought. You see, while they never named the people, the matter being discussed on national television was always bound to be problematic. Not just legally, but morally. 18-year old Mary Kate Cornett, the girlfriend in this scenario, has been dragged through the mud in the aftermath. And she plans to drag McAfee with him as a result.

 “When the more popular people started posting, that’s when it really, really changed,” said Cornett to The Athletic. She also confirmed the story was “completely false” and began gaining traction on X via a singular post on anonymous message board platform YikYak. Veiled behind anonymity, somebody essentially ruined Cornett’s college life and potentially beyond. Pat McAfee giving the rumor a prominent voice didn’t help one bit. Cornett had to leave her Ole Miss dorm, move to an emergency housing for her safety and privacy and even take her courses online. There was a lot more egregious stuff that the aforementioned article detailed.

Mary Kate Cornett’s attorney has stated they’ll proceed with legal action against people such as Pat McAfee. Him and ESPN are yet to comment on this revelation. Alas, the court of public opinion has already passed its judgement. The Athletic’s article was posted to Reddit, on the r/cfb sub. People saw the travesty that had followed the distasteful commentary on McAfee’s show and weren’t pleased. They didn’t mince their words in letting Pat McAfee know their feelings.

Social media verse expresses its disdain towards Pat McAfee and the situation

In the comments section of the Reddit post, one person sarcastically said, “Pat McAfee did a s***ty thing? Why, I never!” Although he has his fair share of fans, McAfee’s demeanor and persona can tend to rub people the wrong way. Another person wrote, “So strange that he’d even bring it up on air….like W*F does any of that have even remotely to do with sports.”

A bunch of the comments called for Mary Kate Cornett to successfully sue Pat McAfee. “Hope these ppl gets sued so heavily. Its so evil what they do” and “I hope she takes these a****les for a pretty penny” were instances of this sentiment. Another comment read, “Soulless people amplified falsehoods to make a ton of money on it.” That’s perhaps the most terrible bit. Knowing this was the Combine, while Adam Schefter’s on air, to bring up something that was merely online hearsay isn’t a great look. “I really can’t stand McAfee. So annoying,” said another person.

Did Pat McAfee mean to bring about the issues he indirectly did onto Cornett? Absolutely not. But should a veteran media member such as him read the room a little better and realize this is a little below the belt? Yes. It remains to be seen if a lawsuit is indeed filed and what comes of it if so. But McAfee’s lost some brownie points with the masses.