Five months after Pat McAfee discussed an alleged scandal involving 18-year-old Ole Miss student Mary Kate Cornett during a broadcast from the NFL Draft Combine, he has issued an on-air apology.

The viral story took off in February after anonymous X and Snapchat accounts accused Cornett of sleeping with her boyfriend’s father. Soon after, Cornett released a statement to her father’s Facebook page denying the allegations and accusing McAfee (as well as former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown and Barstool host Kevin Clancy) of defamation. Cornett also stated at the time that she had filed police reports with the Oxford police, the Ole Miss campus police, and the FBI.

Barstool and its founder, Dave Portnoy, quickly corrected the record. While the content about Cornett did not appear on Barstool-owned channels, Portnoy later appeared on NBC News to issue a formal apology to Cornett and promised to improve Barstool’s “editorial standards.” After Portnoy indicated the Cornetts and his company intended to mediate their potential legal dispute, three Barstool talents publicly apologized for amplifying the false rumors.

All the while, McAfee mostly remained quiet.

During a long monologue at his “Big Night Aht” event in Pittsburgh in April, McAfee stopped short of a full apology, but pledged to “try to figure that out and make some sort of silver lining in a very terrible situation” with the Cornetts. He even acknowledged his audience’s frustration with him, stating that he would make it easier for them to support him by avoiding similar mistakes in the future. But on his show, McAfee avoided the issue, even as Cornett repeatedly called him out directly in her public appearances.

Until Wednesday.

In what appeared to be a prepared statement, McAfee acknowledged that the story was “not true” and apologized repeatedly to Cornett and her family for the “anguish” he helped cause by discussing the alleged scandal on air. The ESPN-distributed host also revealed that he has visited the Cornetts personally to meet and apologize to them.

Said McAfee:

“As a lot of you know, on February 26 of this year, we were down at the Combine on this particular program. We discussed a very viral internet story about an Ole Miss college student. We weren’t clear at that time where the story originated from. It was all over the internet. Yet by the time we talked about it, the story was everywhere. 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. 

“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. And 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 and acknowledge that what I said about Mary Kate was based solely on what others were saying on the internet, or what had previously been reported by others, and that we had no personal knowledge about Mary Kate or her personal life.”

Later, McAfee expressed remorse for waiting so long to set the record straight, explaining that it was important for him to meet with the family before going on air with further comment.

“As a girl dad, I also was very thankful for the opportunity to let Mr. Cornett know that I was wildly regretful for the part that our show, our program, played in his daughter, Mary Kate’s, pain. I know many of you are wondering why I, or we, haven’t addressed this topic until now. It’s a fair question. But as you might imagine, there was a lot going on behind the scenes since this all happened. The most important element on the timing is that I, personally, it was a decision I made, 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.

“I deeply regret all the pain that this caused. I hated watching what our show as a part of, in her interviews and reading about it. And my hope is that this can be something that we all learn from going forward. I know we certainly have. Our goal at this show is to make the world a happier place, a better place. To celebrate life and sports and unify folks. I, and we, don’t always get it right. But we’ll never stop trying.”

“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.

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing.bsky.social) 2025-07-23T18:01:38.767Z

While some elements of McAfee’s apology may have been a legal obligation as part of his mediation with the Cornett family, this situation also appears to have led to some introspection on the part of the typically indignant host. Unlike when he successfully fought off an ill-fated lawsuit from retired NFL QB Brett Favre, in this case McAfee acknowledged the need to change.

Particularly at a time when his words are now blasted across linear television each day, McAfee is more exposed. On Wednesday, he acknowledged he cannot afford to be as loose with his words when it comes to viral memes and rumors.