Dave Portnoy believes Barstool Sports deserves recognition, not lawsuits, for swiftly identifying the viral rumor involving Ole Miss freshman Mary Kate Cornett as false. Earlier this year, Cornett fell victim to a false internet rumor about her relationship, which gained momentum on social media. Pat McAfee amplified it during his ESPN show, while Barstool’s Jack McGuire (Jack Mac) and Kevin Clancy (KFC Barstool) also reacted to the situation, albeit outside Barstool channels.
Following the disruption caused by the false rumor, Cornett and her family have threatened legal action against Barstool and ESPN, with recent focus on McAfee. In a recent episode of The Unnamed Show with Dave Portnoy, Kirk Minihane, and Ryan Whitney, Portnoy addressed the situation, questioning McAfee’s decision to vaguely reference the story during his ESPN broadcast and commended Barstool for choosing not to cover it on their platforms.
“We did not allow any of that on Barstool,” Portnoy stated. “McAfee talked about it on ESPN; he didn’t mention any names but alluded to a very viral story.” He noted that anyone digging into the details would quickly see it was a fake rumor. “This originated on an Ole Miss Yik Yak—anyone can post anything. Photos were doctored, and someone familiar with her spread it, though she wanted no part in it. It was clearly fabricated, but it caught on virally.”
While Barstool chose to refrain from posting on the issue, Cornett even named the brand after Jack Mac, and KFC Barstool discussed the rumor on their personal social media. Clancy created a two-minute video reacting to the rumor as it spread online. “We decided it’s not going on our channels. If Kevin and Jack Mac had asked me, I would have advised them not to mention it at all,” Portnoy said, noting McAfee likely regretted bringing it up on ESPN, despite keeping his remarks vague.
“Does McAfee follow a different standard when on ESPN? I think it does,” Portnoy remarked. “We nixed it; someone had it in the draft, and we said, ‘We’re not posting this. This is not our coverage.’ Strangely, I think we should be praised for saying no. We decided against covering it, though KFC Barstool and Jack Mac still did. Still, I can see Barstool facing lawsuits from Cornett, even after having the foresight to avoid writing about the story on our network.”
