In what will come as no surprise to many who have been following this story, the Monday Night Football get together between NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Barstool Sports’ founder Dave Portnoy won’t be happening. Portnoy received word today that his winning charity bid of $250K has been rejected due to not passing a background check, one of the preconditions necessary for accepting an invite to Goodell’s home.
The NFL pointed out that Portnoy has been involved in multiple encounters with NFL security including being arrested at league headquarters in 2015, trespassing at NFL events in 2016 and 2019, and creating an uproar in 2011 by posting a nude photo of Tom Brady’s then-2-year-old son.
“He was the highest bidder, but the bid was contingent upon a background check,” said NFL VP of Communications Brian McCarthy. “So he consented to the background check, and it came back and he heard from the NFL today that he did not pass the background check. He will not be the winner.”
Portnoy, a longtime critic of Goodell’s, and a thorn in the side of the league office responded to the news by releasing a video on Twitter. In it he said “there are cowards, mega cowards and then there’s Roger Goodell.” Portnoy went on to criticize the commissioner for lacking self awareness and a sense of humor, and not possessing the ability to deal with a person as smart as himself.
The NFL will donate $250,000 equally to six charities they supported during the NFL draft-a-thon, and will pick a deserving front line worker from the pandemic to spend time at Goodell’s home.
Though it would’ve made for interesting and entertaining content, it was a long shot from the start that the NFL would accept Portnoy’s money and go thru with the deal. Regardless of the outcome, it’s provided a whole lot of free marketing for Barstool Sports, making Portnoy a winner either way.
