Dave Portnoy took another shot at ESPN on Thursday.
The Barstool Sports founder wrote on X that the network “is officially Barstool Jr.” after announcing a new partnership with “Bussin’ With the Boys” hosts and former Barstool podcasters Taylor Lewan and Will Compton.
Portnoy later doubled down, clarifying that he has no problem with ESPN’s on-air talent, but he couldn’t say the same for the suits upstairs.
“Also people confuse my disdain for ESPN with the people who work there,” Portnoy wrote in a follow up. “Pat [McAfee] is a megastar. Everybody knows I love the Bussin guys. I absolutely despise the snakes who run the place. Corporate weasels.”
Portnoy has been at war with ESPN since the company canceled the show “Barstool Van Talk” after just one episode in the fall of 2017 after internal blowback at the Worldwide Leader.
In July, Portnoy announced that his sports media empire was joining Fox Sports in a “wide-ranging partnership.”
“We’re going to partner with Big Noon Kickoff… I’m going to be on it every week,” Portnoy said in a “Emergency Press Conference” video posted to X, noting that other Barstool personalities will be incorporated into “Kickoff.”
“We are going to do an 8-10 daily show on Fox Sports 1. It will be like a ‘Barstool Breakfast Show’ [or] ‘Barstool Wake up’,” Portnoy added. “I’m going to do Mondays, we’ll have an office in Chicago. They want a taste of the Barstool world, really.”
“I’m very happy with the deal,” Portnoy said later.
Fox Sports had a similar feeling.
“We’re excited to welcome Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports to the FOX Sports family. Dave has built a one-of-a-kind brand that connects with a new generation of sports fans — authentic, bold, and original,” CEO and Executive Producer of Fox Sports Eric Shanks said in a statement. “Their unique voice and loyal fanbase makes them a natural fit for our evolving multiplatform content strategy.”
Portnoy, who is no stranger to controversy, is currently feuding with Ohio State — his beloved Michigan’s bitter rival — ahead of the Buckeyes’ heavyweight matchup against Texas on Saturday.
