Dave Portnoy has publicly apologized for the role that two personalities associated with his sports site, Barstool Sports, played in amplifying a false rumor that significantly impacted a 19-year-old student's mental health.
The businessman responded to Mary Kate Cornett's statement that her life had been "practically ruined" by the rumor that she had slept with her boyfriend's father.
Highlights
- Dave Portnoy has expressed regret over the involvement of two Barstool Sports employees in spreading a false rumor about a 19-year-old.
- Mary Kate Cornett was cyberbullied after a rumor emerged claiming she had slept with her boyfriend's father.
- The student was forced to relocate to emergency housing and switch to online classes.
"I would apologize. I get why the family is pissed," he told NBC News when asked what he would say if given the chance to speak to the young woman.
"It's a vicious rumor. I'm sad, and I wish we didn't play any part in it."
Image credits: Slaven Vlasic / Getty
Portnoy said he would like to meet with Cornett's family, though he's not sure "how you put the toothpaste back in the tube."
The rumor originated online and was first amplified in February when ESPN host and analyst Pat McAfee discussed it on The Pat McAfee Show.
Without naming her, he attributed the false claims involving the University of Mississippi student to "everybody on the internet."
"I thought it was absolutely ridiculous that an ESPN sports broadcaster would be talking about a 19-year-old girl's 's*x scandal' that was completely false," Cornett told NBC Nightly News.
Then, after McAfee shared a clip of the discussion with his 3.2 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), at least two people associated with Barstool Sports mentioned the story on their personal X accounts. The messages have since been deleted.
Portnoy denied his site's involvement in amplifying the false claim in an interview with Rolling Stone published on February 27.
The 48-year-old said his employees "posted something on their personal socials, but we don't control those."
However, he has since retracted this statement in an interview with NBC News published on Thursday (April 10), in which he said he wanted to "throw up" after learning that Barstool Sports had become associated with the rumor.
"It's a vicious rumor. I wish we didn't play any part in it," said the Barstool Sports founder
Image credits: stoolpresidente
His apology follows a statement by Cornett's lawyers, asserting that their client has been a victim of cyberbullying and has grounds to pursue a defamation lawsuit.
The sports site founder said his lawyers and Cornett's lawyers have been in communication, and he was offered two paths: a lawsuit or mediation.
He said he is planning to pursue mediation.
"I think we're going to try to mediate. I don't know what we did legally wrong. It's a little different issue, but morally, we were wrong," he admitted. "I was bragging that morally I thought we were right."
Image credits: marykate.cornett
McAfee did not mention Cornett directly, but he spoke about "the current situation that is happening" and said: "I have a lot of people saying that I should be sued. 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."
As a consequence of the negative rumor, Cornett was forced to relocate to emergency housing and switch to online classes to avoid people making vulgar remarks and taking her photo without consent.
"It's awful," she expressed. "It's awful, and having your life ruined by people who have no idea who you are is the worst feeling in the world."
Two Barstool Sports employees amplified the false claim that Cornett had slept with her boyfriend's father
Image credits: marykate.cornett
In a Facebook post shared by her dad, the 19-year-old said she had been the "victim of a deliberate and coordinated cyberattack."
Her family suspects the attack was the result of a fraternity prank that later "mushroomed out of control" and spread after it was shared by "irresponsible social media participants" and "thousands of fake accounts."
The cyberattack included "partially and wholly edited screenshots, fake AI-generated videos, and manipulated photographs."
Mary Kate Cornett has launched a GoFundMe page to support other victims of cyberattacks
Image credits: marykate.cornett
The college student stated: "Not to be outdone by the bots, irresponsible independent social media influencers with apparent ties to Barstool Sports and even major public figures like Antonio Brown and Pat McAfee, who host ESPN's College Game Day, have shared these utter and complete lies with zero interest in the truth."
Cornett said she has received multiple calls and texts "of a sick and demented nature, some of which suggest I even take my own life."
The post mentions that Cornett has filed police reports with local law enforcement, the University of Mississippi campus police, and the FBI.
Dave Portnoy's statement comes after Mary Kate Cornett's attorneys threatened a defamation lawsuit
Image credits: NBC News
She and her family have launched a GoFundMe page to support victims of cyberbullying who lack the resources to take legal action to defend their names.
"100% of the Proceeds will be used to provide seed capital, establishing a foundation focused on helping innocent victims of similar defamatory cyber attacks.
"I pray for the strength and courage to use this unwanted attention as a platform to help others whose lives have been turned upside down in similar circumstances."
Many people said the 19-year-old should pursue a defamation lawsuit after everything she was put through
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