Portnoy at odds with New York Times

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has hit back at a New York Times reporter who claimed he did not grant her request for comments.

screen recording of an in-depth Twitter conversation with the author

On Sunday, November 20, the New York Times tweeted the link to a story with a description that painted the controversial internet figure in an unfavorable light. Portnoy then pulled a quote from the story that alleged that he did not respond to questions and attached a screen recording of an in-depth Twitter conversation with the author of the story:

The title of the New York Times story on Portnoy is “Desperate for Growth, Aging Casino Company Embraced ‘Degenerate Gambler.’” The piece goes into detail regarding his alleged history of “racist” and “misogynist” behavior.?

A damning article

The latest attack on Portnoy, a piece by Times reporter and 2018 Pulitzer Prize winner Emily Steel, dives into his role as a leading member at Penn National and the growing sports betting industry. It quotes several industry insiders who raised concern or hesitance about welcoming a controversial figure into such a prominent role.?

This included concerns raised by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and Nevada Gaming Control Board. The latter said that it is investigating Penn’s compliance and the history of Barstool before the agreed sale.

agreed to sit down with her if he could film it

In the middle of the article, Steel said that Portnoy did not respond to her request for his perspective—however, Portnoy shared a long-winded Twitter conversation between the two in which he supposedly agreed to sit down with her if he could film it. Steel told him that she could not allow that to happen.

Last Monday, Portnoy also told Fox host Tucker Carlson on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that he reached out to Steel in April and said that he would answer any of her questions.?

“I don’t care what your politics are, how you sit—I am the witness of a story you are working on for basically a year and I am saying ‘I will sit down with you,’” said Portnoy. “You can ask me anything. I’m not saying lawyers in the room. Nobody, just me.” 

Back-and-forth battle

Portnoy has widely split opinions with his brash confidence that crosses into arrogance, lack of filter, and repeated scandals. Earlier this year, he was hit with allegations of sexual misconduct from women as young as 19 which slowed the sale of his Barstool Sports to Penn Entertainment.

the information in the Times story came from public records and on-the-record comments

There has not been any public back-and-forth between Portnoy and the Times since Wednesday, November 23, when Steel shared a retweet that said the information in the Times story came from public records and on-the-record comments. One day prior, Portnoy revealed messages that Steel had sent to three would-be sources asking for information.

According to images shared by Steel last Monday, Portnoy was notified of the story more than a week before it ran and given final attempts to respond to questions, which he did not.?

The New York Times is standing firm behind Steel and the story. Meanwhile, Portnoy already said: “It’s below me to even dignify this hatchet job with a response.”