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Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports have been pulled from Fox's Big Noon Kickoff college football pregame show, an anonymous source told The Associated Press. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been made public. The Athletic first reported Fox Sports' decision.
Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, took to social media to claim that Ohio State and its head coach, Ryan Day, were responsible for forcing Fox Sports to remove them from the show. In his post, Portnoy wrote, "Juice wasn't worth the squeeze and frankly I don't blame them. Huge dollars at stake and you have Cryin Ryan throwing temper tantrums and making threats every few days on something I said."
Fox Sports declined to comment, and Ohio State referred all questions about Portnoy to Fox Sports. The Associated Press also reached out to Portnoy via email for comment.
Key Analysis
The move comes amid a lucrative media rights deal that sees Fox pay the most in a seven-year, multinetwork agreement with the Big Ten, which also includes NBC and CBS. Fox also holds a 61% ownership stake in the Big Ten Network. Portnoy began appearing on Big Noon Kickoff last fall after Barstool and Fox Sports announced a partnership.
Big Noon Kickoff features host Rob Stone alongside analysts Brady Quinn, Matt Leinart, Mark Ingram, and Chris "The Bear" Fallica. Portnoy, a Michigan graduate, has frequently used Ohio State as a punching bag. Last year, he said Ohio State banned him from entering Ohio Stadium before the season opener between the Buckeyes and Texas. Ohio State countered that during planning meetings with Fox, only the main desk crew would be allowed into the stadium, and Portnoy was not part of that group.
Despite the removal from Big Noon Kickoff, Barstool still airs a live two-hour weekday morning show on FS1.
Originally reported by huffpost.