Dave Portnoy Apologizes for Role in Spreading ‘Vicious’ Rumor That ‘Practically Ruined’ College Student’s Life

• Mary Kate Cornett a University of Mississippi student, became the center of an unsubstantiated viral rumor in February 
• Cornett has repeatedly denied rumors that she behaved inappropriately with her boyfriend’s father
• Founder of Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy, has now apologized for two personalities associated with his site amplifying the rumor on social media

The founder of Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy, is publicly apologizing for the role two personalities associated with his sports site played in amplifying a viral false rumor that has plagued a University of Mississippi student’s life.

Mary Kate Cornett, 19, has repeatedly denied rumors that she behaved inappropriately, saying they are “categorically false” and threatened earlier this month to take legal action against those who participated in spreading the speculation.

On April 10, Portnoy addressed Cornett’s claims that her life had been “practically ruined” in an interview with NBC News.

“I would apologize, I get why the family is p——,” he told the outlet when asked what he would say if given the chance to speak to Cornett. “I’m sad, and I wish we didn’t play any part in it.”

The “vicious rumor” that Cornett was involved with her boyfriend’s father was circulating online when ESPN host and analyst Pat McAfee amplified it further by discussing it on the Feb. 26 episode of ESPN’S The Pat McAfee Show while citing “everybody on the internet” as his source.

He didn’t name her, but after a clip from the discussion was shared with his 3.2 million followers on X, at least two people associated with Barstool Sports referenced the rumor in posts on their personal X accounts that have since been deleted.

“I thought it was absolutely ridiculous that an ESPN sports broadcaster would be talking about a 19-year-old girl’s ‘sex scandal’ that was completely false,” Cornett previously told NBC Nightly News.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

She added in a Facebook post, shared by her dad, that she had been the “victim of a deliberate and coordinated cyberattack,” which included “partially and wholly edited screenshots, fake AI-generated videos and manipulated photographs.”

The rumor continued to spread as “irresponsible social media participants” and “thousands of fake accounts” shared it.

The Athletic reported that two Barstool Sports personalities also referenced the rumor on their social media accounts.

Portnoy initially denied his site’s involvement in an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this month but has since told NBC News that he wanted to “throw up” when he discovered they were connected to the false claim.

The sports site founder said his lawyers and Cornett’s lawyers have been in communication and that Cornett’s lawyers offered two paths — a lawsuit or 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,” Portnoy told NBC News on Thursday. “I was bragging that morally I thought we were right.”

The apology comes after Cornett’s lawyers previously stated that she was the victim of cyberbullying and has grounds for a defamation suit, per NBC News.

As previously reported by PEOPLE, alongside receiving vile and sexist messages after her phone number was posted online, the freshman was forced to relocate to emergency housing and switch to online classes to avoid vulgar in-person comments and people taking photographs of her.

“It’s awful,” Cornett told NBC News. “It’s awful, and having your life ruined by people who have no idea who you are is the worst feeling in the world.”