Want to know how rumors spread online and how they can ruin someone’s life? Well, that is pretty much what is happening with Mary Kate Cornett, and certainly, this Barstool Lawsuit (which isn’t a thing yet) is all about that, which a lot of people seem to be interested in. See, a lot of people spread some rumours about her, saying that she was involved with her boyfriend’s dad. Let’s now get to the details and see what went down and why it is a big thing overall.
Who’s Caught Up in This?
Let’s first list the actors in this situation. To begin with, there is Mary Kate Cornett, a university student who got entangled in this affair without having done anything to provoke it. She has been facing cyberbullying because of it.
And next, you can mention Dave Portnoy, the initiator of Barstool Sports. Upon finding out that even the people associated with his company were publishing something about the rumor, not only through the devices of the company but also their own personal accounts, he got very angry. The situation, as witnessed by him, was so devastating that he felt like he wanted to puke. Oh, what a sore point!
After that, Portnoy came forward and acknowledged, “We really screwed up.” He was of the opinion that his company was officially wrong and, at least morally, they tried to explain their point of view even if the company itself didn’t post about the rumor. Did you know that those posts were from employees’ personal accounts and Barstool didn’t have full control over them? Nevertheless, Portnoy still convicted his company of contributing to Mary Kate’s predicament.
Pat McAfee belongs to the category number four, the person who was among the first to propagate the gossip in his program. Following that time, he proceeded to clarify that he only intended to talk about the incident and that no one should have committed such an act as ruining someone’s reputation. However, things seemed beyond repair at that point.
So, What’s the Legal Deal?
Now things are getting interesting. Mary Kate’s family was not planning to passively wait; they hired lawyers, and it was a smart decision. They claim the girl has a strong defamation case.
As a result, the lawyers asked Dave Portnoy and his team if they are ready to go to court to resolve the issue, or if they can do it in another way via mediation. It’s just like talking matters out and avoiding a huge courtroom showdown. Portnoy selected the second option, as he is willing to settle using mediation for now. No official lawsuit (so yes, the Barstool Lawsuit isn’t an official one yet) has been filed yet, at least not that we know of, but both parties are discussing the case through their lawyers.
Actually, Mary Kate’s family is a bit reserved now, yet her lawyer claims that the girl was very much emotionally affected by the online attacks. It must be burdensome and life-changing if she is right.
What’s Barstool Saying About All This?
Barstool, as a company, is attempting to handle the situation responsibly. According to Portnoy, it sounds like the rumor wasn’t an official statement from them, so, to some extent, they are out of trouble from a legal perspective. At the same time, he has admitted responsibility, that is, he has expressed that they made a mistake, and that his aim is to fix the situation as much as possible, but he will not deny the point.
The problem is that once a thing goes viral, there is no coming back. Portnoy mentioned that a situation could be like that of attempting to get the toothpaste back in the tube. Essentially, he is telling you that you have no chance of reversing this kind of damage.
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