Indianapolis Colts alum Pat McAfee, already no stranger to controversy, has landed in major hot water, after he dedicated a portion of his show to spreading a false rumor about a freshman at Ole Miss, who now says she plans to sue.
The Athletic reported on the scandal, which revolves a February 26th taping of "The Pat McAfee Show," which airs on ESPN. Adam Schefter was on the show as a guest, presumably to discuss the NFL Combine. Instead, McAfee swerved to a rumor that was completely unrelated to football.
"Have you heard about Ole Miss?" he asked, and when Schefter seemed unaware, added, "So you have not heard about the last 12 hours."
One of McAfee's regular panelists said, “There is a ménage à trois …” to which McAfee jumped in and added, "That has really captivated the internet.”
McAfee then explained, “Some Ole Miss frat bro, k? Had a K-D (Kappa Delta) girlfriend... allegedly. At this exact moment, this is what is being reported by … everybody on the internet: Dad had sex with son’s girlfriend. And then it was made public … that’s the absolute worst-case situation.”
What's going on at Ole Miss 😂😂#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/48ed4tI3ey
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 26, 2025
Schefter, looking uncomfortable, tried to turn the conversation back towards football, asking about Jaxson Dart. But McAfee ignored him, and continued joking about the rumor.
The freshman being referenced is Mary Kate Cornett, and she has already indicated that she will pursue legal action against McAfee and ESPN. Neither have commented on the scandal so far. Why McAfee felt it was necessary to mention an unfounded internet rumor, previously circulated only on social media, on his show, and joke about it in front of an audience of millions, is unclear. But she has said that it has ruined her life.
Cornett said she regularly receives hate-filled messages at her dorm room, so much so that she had to be moved into emergency housing. She and her family have been "swatted," where someone calls 911 and falsely reports a crime at an address so police will be dispatched there. Once her phone number was online, she began getting lewd phone calls from men offering to have sex with her, as well as text messages calling her profanity-laced names and urging her to kill herself.
“They don’t think it matters, because they don’t know who I am and they think that I deserve it,” she said of McAfee and other media personalities who spread the rumor. Monica Uddin, her attorney, added, “They elevated a lie from the worst corners of (X) to millions of general sports fans just to get a few more clicks and ultimately a few more dollars. While they don’t have to deal with it after it airs, the lie is chained to Mary Kate for the rest of her life.”
While McAfee is not the only media personality to have mentioned the rumor, which both Cornett and her boyfriend say is false, he has the largest audience and is the most influential. It also has raised questions about previous scandals, as the Athletic pointed out:
"Since his show began airing on ESPN in 2023, McAfee described WNBA player Caitlin Clark as a “White bitch.” (He later apologized.) On X, he made a joke about former Michigan State and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually abused hundreds of young girls and women. (He defended the reference in the midst of what he described as an “all-out onslaught” of backlash.) Aaron Rodgers, the NFL quarterback, used a paid appearance on McAfee’s show to falsely suggest that talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was linked to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. McAfee apologized “for being a part of it.”"The Athletic
His most recent controversy regarding the Colts involved Zaire Franklin and Anthony Richardson, in which McAfee responded to a podcast in which Franklin criticized the media for how they handled Richardson's benching.
Though some agreed with McAfee, fans overwhelmingly responded by siding with Franklin. He was criticized for a lack of professionalism, for being too emotional, for not having constructive criticism on the issue, and for going after both Richardson and Franklin on a personal level.
It's still not clear what the repercussions over this latest controversy will be for McAfee, or if he will even acknlowedge it. But it's not a good look for one of the most vocal and public Indianapolis Colts veterans.