Dave Portnoy Talks Sports, Politics, And Why He Fights Back

On the latest episode of “The Ben Shapiro Show: Sunday Special,” Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy talked politics, sports, and why he doesn’t stay away from social media altercations. 

From disputes with AOC to defending his company from online attacks, Portnoy has a strong following on social media among fans who he says appreciate the candidness of his style. Just last month, for example, Portnoy took on a hockey commentator who accused Barstool Sports, the media company he founded in the early 2000s, of having a history of “unapologetic” racism and misogyny. 

I know people say I should ignore guys like @GMillerTSN But I’ll never be able to do that. Barstool is 20 years of my life’s work. I’m proud of it. I’m proud of our fans. He attacked everything I’m about. If you don’t fight back against that what do you fight back against?

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) March 17, 2021

Portnoy told Shapiro in an interview airing Sunday, April 25, that he’s willing to debate with anyone — even in front of a crowd — but that he’s not willing to just stand around and take it when critics come at him first. 

“There is an audience that appreciates, and it’s not even Left or Right, it’s kind of both, like, ‘I like how these guys aren’t backing down.’ And our audience allows us to do that, so people have always asked, ‘Why do you fight back’ or ‘Why do you push back’ or ‘Why don’t you just shut up when someone takes a shot at you that you feel is unfair,’ it’s like, I’m not going to do that. I will never throw the first punch, but if you throw a shot at me on Twitter — out of the clouds — it’s not my responsibility to protect you,” said Portnoy.

“I will never throw the first punch, but if you throw a shot at me on Twitter — out of the clouds — it’s not my responsibility to protect you,” he said. 

Portnoy also talked about his repeated run-ins with the NFL, like the time security escorted him away from NFL headquarters for protesting in defense of Tom Brady during DeflateGate — or the time he was kicked out of the Super Bowl at half-time. 

“When they suspended him for four games, we went and protested and – myself and three other Patriot fans who work for me — handcuffed ourselves to each other at NFL headquarters,” the Barstool sports founder told Shapiro. “We got arrested, spent a night in jail for that, and it continued to escalate.”

“I got dragged out of the Super Bowl, it was Patriots-Rams Super Bowl. I bought tickets, and at half-time, they literally had about ten security guards drag me out, in hand-cuffs, because they banned me from the Super Bowl,” added Portnoy. 

Even when sports leagues take a moral stand, Portnoy said, they’re not concerned with morality; They’re more concerned about making money or trying to appease fans. 

“We can agree morally whether something is right, or a protest is right, but I just don’t buy that with the leagues. They’re doing it, on what they think is best for their bottom line, and that, you know, they’ll find out, in the end, I guess whether it was right,” he said.

This week, @barstoolsports very own @stoolpresidente joins The Sunday Special with @benshapiro! They discuss Trump Derangement Syndrome, politics in sports, and much more! Watch the full episode this Sunday over at https://t.co/j8GmCPXLgb and Youtube! pic.twitter.com/6xwgd3jPTi

— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) April 22, 2021

Watch Dave Portnoy and Ben Shapiro on the newest episode of “The Ben Shapiro Show: Sunday Special” airing Sunday, April 25, exclusively at The Daily Wire. 

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