Pat McAfee addresses Mary Kate Cornett legal action, vows to make 'silver lining in very terrible situation'

For the first time, Pat McAfee addressed the planned legal action from Ole Miss student Mary Kate Cornett. She was at the center of a social media rumor McAfee alluded to on his show during the NFL Scouting Combine.

McAfee could not directly mention Cornett’s legal action while speaking at Wednesday’s “Big Night AHT with Pat McAfee and Friends” in Pittsburgh. However, he strongly alluded to it after recapping the situation involving Brett Favre, which was dropped.

McAfee said he didn’t intend to “add any more negativity” to the situation. With that, though, he vowed to “make some sort of silver lining” out of it.

“I’m cool with Brett, just like the current situation that is happening where I have a lot of people saying that I should be sued,” McAfee told the crowd at PPG Paints Arena. “I want to say this – I never, ever want to be a part of anything negative in anybody’s life. Ever. That is not what I want to do. And for all of these events, you f***ing know it that my lawyers are Pittsburgh lawyers. They’re here tonight, I do believe. They have a suite here that I have certainly contributed to. Certainly. But they have the same mindset as me – empathy, but understanding reality.

“And for that whole thing that’s happening, I didn’t want to add any more negativity as it was taking place like I did. We will try to figure that out and make some sort of silver lining in a very terrible situation. You can have that promise from me. It won’t be as impossible to be a fan of mine going forward.”

The rumor centered around Cornett went viral on social media Feb. 25. One day later, McAfee and others on the show alluded to the situation, but did not directly mention Cornett or anyone else involved by name. However, the Ole Miss student alleged McAfee, Barstool Sports and former NFL receiver Antonio Brown played a role in amplifying the rumors and spreading “categorically false and defamatory information” regarding an alleged sexual relationship. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy told Rolling Stone editors made it a point to avoid the story rather than mentioning it.

Last week, Cornett’s father Justin spoke with NBC News about the situation. He called out the “responsibility” one has when speaking into a microphone that needs to be “taken seriously.

“When you have a microphone and you have a platform, you have a responsibility to take on that role with the respect of the people you report on being paramount,” Justin Cornett said. “If this were to happen to him, his daughter, his wife, someone he loves, he sure wouldn’t like it. When you have a microphone, you have a responsibility and it needs to be taken seriously.”