Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl officials say they’re “closely monitoring the situation” after multiple women spoke out against Dave Portnoy, the founder and “El Presidente” of the game’s new title sponsor.
Multiple women detailed sexual encounters with Portnoy that they said turned both frightening and humiliating, accord to a news story published by Business Insider on Thursday. Two of the women said that Portnoy choked and filmed them without their permission. A third said she became suicidal following a sexual encounter with the media mogul.
Many of the accusations contain “empty half-truths” and are “highly misleading, lack appropriate context, and appear to have been provided … by individuals whose motivations and trustworthiness should have at least been fully vetted,” an attorney for Barstool Sports told Business Insider.
In a pair of videos posted to social media on Thursday, Portnoy characterized the article as a hit piece by a website that “doesn’t give a f- — about destroying lives.” Portnoy said he’s been “pretty open about my sex life” over the years, saying that he occasionally “sexts” and has had kinky sex.
“I know I’ve never done anything weird with a girl, ever,” he said. “Never anything nonconsensual.” As of Friday afternoon, the two videos had more than 4.5 million views.
Portnoy blamed “cancel culture,” which he says “has been coming for me for a decade … This is just the next iteration.” Friday, he announced he was skipping a planned trip to the Breeders’ Cup in San Diego, writing that he didn’t want to bring “any negative attention.”
Of course, Barstool’s empire was built on attention — not all of it positive.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted in August to both withdraw $38,155.56 in funding and request that the county’s name be removed from the Dec. 31 bowl game’s website. At issue were past statements made by Portnoy, who goes by “El Presidente” on social media. Among them was a May 2010 post in which Portnoy wrote: “Though I never condone rape, if you’re a Size 6 and wearing skinny jeans, you kind of deserve to be raped, right?”
In a letter sent to the board before its vote, Arizona Bowl executive director Kym Adair praised Barstool’s commitment to diversity, noting that the media company has a female CEO, an all-female executive group and a staff of 280 that is “inclusive of every race, creed, color, and sexual orientation.” She pointed out Barstool’s charitable efforts, noting that Portnoy has helped raise $40 million for small business during the pandemic.
Adair wrote that Barstool, which she called “an internet comedy company,” has had “jokes that have missed (and) comedies and content that didn’t land or stand the test of time” since its 2004 founding. She said the company has “evolved from those early years.”
Three months later, bowl officials addressed Portnoy again. The Arizona Bowl issued a statement issued to the Star and other news outlets that read: “Thank you for reaching out. We are aware of the article that came out yesterday. We are closely monitoring the situation and have no further comment at this time. Thank you.”
Portnoy, in his video, said he wasn’t surprised that the story had been released. He said Business Insider had been reaching out to former and suspected sexual partners for eight months.
“I’m scared. It’s like they’re asking the internet: Tell a lot of bad stories about Dave Portnoy,” he said. “Well, guess what? A lot of f—-ing people hate me. I guarantee you this: They’ll never be able to prove anything — nothing — because nothing’s ever happened.”
