Was Dave Portnoy banned from Ohio State stadium? What we know as reports sparks outrage online

American businessman and social media personality Dave Portnoy has weighed in on his reported ban from Ohio State, after the latter claimed otherwise.

Earlier this week, the university’s athletic director Ross Bjork told Yahoo! Sports that, unlike the viral rumor, they have not declared a ban against Portnoy ahead of his gig as the host of “Big Noon Kickoff” for the Fox network during the Ohio State Buckeyes’ season-opener against Texas at the Ohio Stadium, Columbus, on August 30.

However, Dave took to X on August 26 and claimed Ohio State was seemingly hiding the truth, and he had known about the ban for over a week. He also insinuated that the reported ban had to do with the Buckeyes’ rivalry with the Michigan Wolverines, of which he is a former member.

“We canceled our production. We had to pay a fee — a late fee — all that stuff for not coming to Ohio State in Columbus… They banned me from coming to the stadium. They banned our show from being on campus. And I feel bad that Fox is in the middle of it,” he claimed.

The Barstool Sports founder’s video post was a reply to Yahoo! Sports’ journalist Ross Dellenger’s tweet about Bjork claiming that it was not Ohio State but the Fox network that decided “Portnoy would not be on the main desk of Big Noon Kickoff and those not on the desk do not normally appear on the field. These are Fox decisions, he emphasized.”

“I want Michigan vs Ohio to mean something again. And I love the people of Columbus, outside the football team they root for. Good, clean, hardworking people. So, I am going to give Buckeye Nation free advice. Stop pointing the finger. Look in the mirror. Get better. Get tougher,” Dave’s caption read.

Neither Ohio State nor Ross Bjork has responded to Dave Portnoy’s allegations. However, it has now sparked online outrage.

Others called out Dave Portnoy.

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More about Dave Portnoy’s claims about the Ohio State ban report

According to Dave Portnoy’s 5-minute and 41-second video on X, Ohio State doesn’t want him at their stadium on Saturday during their game against Texas, because he is a University of Michigan alumnus.

Sporting a Michigan hat, Dave shared on Tuesday that the reported ban stemmed from a historic rivalry between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines, and that the former was in a four-game defeat streak against the latter.

“When one team beats your f**king face in for an entire decade, when your arch-rival is stomping on your neck and you can’t breathe, you do crazy things,” he stated.

Dave Portnoy continued by saying he found himself in a “unique spot” as he always “just sling it and say what’s happening” rather than cover up facts. He explained that Barstool is an “independent pirate ship” and people loved them for their work, filter-free operations, and because they never hid the truth.

“Now, we’ve formed this big relationship with Fox, and I’m always cognizant of our partners and try to do right by them. And they definitely got put in a weird spot because they didn’t see this, how could anybody see that crying Ryan Day and Ohio State would be this soft?” Portnoy asked.

The 48-year-old Salem native asked Ohio State to “just own what you do” and not hide by saying, “Oh, we didn’t ban him.” Dave Portnoy claimed he was banned as the university is “scared of Michigan.” He also suggested that the only way the Buckeyes could “compete with us again” was if they looked themselves “in the mirror and be honest with yourselves” rather than pointing fingers and not taking accountability.

Subsequently, Portnoy posted another post on X and urged Ohio State, now placed at number 3, to focus on their Saturday’s game against table-topper Texas, rather than “worrying about Michigan.”

“Focus on Texas. Big game coming up. Don’t let your Michigan inferiority complex destroy your entire season,” he wrote.

Earlier, the conservative influencer posted an image of "How to sell ice to Eskimos," in response to Ross Bjork’s claim that it was Fox and not Ohio State that barred him from the upcoming weekend’s game.

Notably, it was Front Office Sports that first reported on Portnoy’s ban by Ohio State. Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Big Ten told Yahoo! Sports earlier this week that Fox reportedly told Ohio State that Dave wouldn’t appear on “Big Noon Kickoff’s main stage inside the stadium of any conference school” for the entire year.

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In July, Fox announced that Dave Portnoy and his company were joining their college football program titled “Big Noon Kickoff,” which will be streamed on Tubi and Fox Sports.

It is not the first time Dave Portnoy has found himself amid such drama. Earlier, he was escorted off the NFL sidelines, including the Super Bowl coverage.