ESPN College GameDay analyst Pat McAfee could face legal trouble for amplifying a rumor that damaged … More the reputation of a University of Mississippi freshman. (Photo by Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Pat McAfee was talking with football insider Adam Schefter about University of Mississippi quarterback Jaxon Dart during a show at the NFL Combine when the conversation took a surprising and dark turn.
That turn could land the controversial broadcaster in court facing defamation charges.
For reasons hard to fathom, McAfee shifted that conversation on Feb. 26 in Indianapolis from over-involved football fathers to an internet rumor about an Ole Miss sorority sister sleeping with her boyfriend’s father .
“This is what is being reported by everyone on the internet: Dad had sex with son’s girlfriend,” he said, without evidence of or regard for fact.
To McAfee, it was just a salacious rumor. To that sorority sister, 18-year-old freshman Mary Kate Cornett, it was her life, and it was in the process of being destroyed.
Cornett appears to be the victim of a vicious and false internet rumor that resulted in her being overwhelmed with harassing texts and voice mails, barely able to leave her dorm room, having to switch to online classes, and getting her family house Swatted.
Now she is looking to hold accountable those who contributed to ruining her life, with McAfee and his network, ESPN, clearly in her sights.
“I’m not a public figure that you can go talk about on your show to get more views,” Cornett said on NBC.
The Ole Miss Rumor
The rumor initially went viral in February and, soon after, someone attached Cornett’s name and photo to it. She said she was soon the No. 1 trending topic on X in the United States, potentially where she caught the attention of McAfee.
Speaking falsehoods about an identifiable private person and harming their reputation with a reckless disregard for the truth are among the criteria for defamation, and McAfee’s carelessness seems to check many boxes of the legal standard. Although he did not mention Cornett by name, it is clear to whom he was referring due to the pervasive nature of the rumor and the fact she was the only name connected to it.
McAfee’s brash, unfiltered style has challenged facts and good taste almost since he first joined the airwaves. His commentary, interweaving humor, exaggeration and extreme claims, is often protected by the cloak of opinion and hyperbole.
McAfee did face a high-profile defamation claim from Brett Favre, after he made comments about the former quarterback’s role in the Mississippi welfare scandal. The commentator said his words were protected by the First Amendment and were not factually inaccurate. They also did not meet the standard of “actual malice,” required in defamation cases related to public figures or public officials.
“My statements expressed in comedic style were based solely on public information and allegations,” McAfee said of the case, which was eventually withdrawn.
Understanding Defamation
Documents that are part of the public record can provide a level of protection against defamation if they are reported on fairly and accurately. Other defenses include newsworthiness and opinion about non-provable facts and, the ultimate protection, truth.
But the opinion defense goes away if the comments can be proven true or false, which could spell trouble for McAfee when it comes to his comments about Cornett.
Cornett, as a private person, need not meet the actual malice burden of proof required of public figures. Instead she needs to prove McAfee was negligent in repeating the false rumor to his 3.2 million followers on social media and on air without making any effort to determine its veracity.
Defamation is a civil offense, which means McAfee faces the loss of money and potentially lots of it, especially considering the impact of his remarks documented in Cornett’s struggles and the widespread harassment she has faced.
Among prominent recent defamation cases is Johnny Depp’s suit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, after she wrote a Washington Post op-ed identifying herself as a survivor of domestic abuse. A jury awarded Depp $10.4 million in damages and Heard $2 million for a counterclaim.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones falsely claimed on “Infowars” that the Sandy Hook shooting, which killed 26 people, was a hoax and that the grieving parents were “crisis actors.” A Connecticut court awarded $965 million to the families.
Blurring the lines
McAfee’s comments highlight the increasingly blurred line between entertainment and responsibility in sports media. While his freewheeling style has endeared him to millions, it also raises serious legal and ethical questions about speculation presented without regard for fact.
As defamation cases continue to make headlines and courts impose steep penalties for reckless statements, the consequences of McAfee’s remarks about Cornett could extend beyond a simple legal battle.
For Cornett, the damage is already done—her reputation tarnished, her safety threatened, and her life disrupted by an internet rumor amplified by a flamboyant personality on a massive platform.
