ESPN has come a long way.
There used to be a time where the “Worldwide Leader In Sports” made it a point to never stray away from covering sports, and only sports. However, in the past couple of years, as their heavy-hitting stars like Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee have become the faces of the network, ESPN has slowly-but-surely opened the door for more non-sports topics to be explored.
Much of that is thanks to The Pat McAfee Show, which joined the ranks of ESPN in September of 2023. When McAfee orchestrated the move, he wanted to make sure that he and his team kept a lot of creative control of their program (they call it a progrum). ESPN agreed… which has lead to things like Aaron Rodgers being outspoken about conspiracy theories, and now, McAfee informing an ESPN reporter about a wild internet rumor.
You’ve probably heard all about the Ole Miss stuff by now, right? Though it’s a tumultuous premise, we do want to point out that it’s all hearsay for now.
What’s the story? Well, you can look the rumors on your own time, but it may be very likely completely made up in an attempt to smear these poor kids and their families… but that didn’t the internet from running wild with the rumors.
If you hadn’t heard of the story, I’m sure you can now see why it has captivated the social media world. It definitely caught the eye of the personalities that make up The Pat McAfee Show. While they are set up to help cover the NFL Scouting Combine, the “progrum” was joined by ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter, whose job is basically to be locked into his cellphone at all times looking for breaking news.
Despite constantly talking to sources and scanning the internet for not-yet-heard stories, Schefter himself was unaware of the alleged happenings at the University of Mississippi – more commonly referred to as Ole Miss. When the topic of Ole Miss’ quarterback Jaxson Dart came up in the conversation, the guys on the show saw that as a green light to bring up the viral internet story.
And it was hilariously awkward to watch The Pat McAfee Show break the news to ESPN’s number one news breaker:
What's going on at Ole Miss 😂😂#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/48ed4tI3ey
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 26, 2025
That right there is why The Pat McAfee Show continues to be one of ESPN’s most popular shows.
If it happening out in the world – regardless of its related to sports or not – you might as well touch on it. The eternally-plugged-into-the-internet Adam Schefter apparently had no idea about the viral story that’s still taking over social media as we speak.
