Monday evening, there was a report that circulated claiming Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy had been banned from field access at Ohio Stadium during Saturday’s Ohio State’s season-opening matchup against Texas. But one Columbus sports radio host wasn’t buying it.
97.1 The Fan’s Jonathan “T-Bone” Smith said Tuesday the reports are less about a ban and more about Portnoy manufacturing another publicity moment.
“I said this from the beginning. When I saw this last night, you can go check my tweet, I said this reeks of a PR stunt by Dave Portnoy, and that’s what it is,” Smith told listeners on The Fan Tuesday morning. “I would be shocked if someone like Dave Portnoy would get under his [Ryan Day] skin. It truly and honestly. I can’t imagine him getting banned, and so he did. So it’s good to know all the Barstool people who are all running their mouths about this. Just know what you get when you watch Barstool. That’s what it is. They’re all lying to you.”
The report stated that Portnoy will still appear on Big Noon Kickoff this Saturday on FOX Sports, but he will not be part of the show’s conclusion inside the stadium. Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told Yahoo Sports Tuesday morning that the reason why Portnoy will not be allowed on the field is because of FOX Sports decision in how they’re using Portnoy on Saturday’s program.
“Ohio State did not issue a ban on Dave Portnoy, AD Ross Bjork tells Yahoo Sports,” tweeted Ross Dellenger, college football writer for Yahoo Sports. “Bjrok confirms that FOX decided Portnoy would not be on the main desk of Big Noon Kickoff and those not on the desk do not appear on the field. These are FOX decisions, he emphasized.”
Smith pointed to his own experience covering the Buckeyes as evidence the school has little interest in policing media personalities. He noted Ohio State coach Ryan Day has appeared on his program multiple times, including this summer despite Smith’s previous criticism.
“If I’m Ryan Day, I want Dave Portnoy to watch my team go out and hopefully decimate Texas. That would be nothing but pure joy for Ryan Day,” Smith continued. “Ryan Day doesn’t care at all about that, guessing. Ryan Day has bigger things to worry about. So it shocked me when I heard this news last night. Everyone ran with it. Everyone’s ‘Oh he’s been banned by Ohio State.’ And I said, I don’t see how that’s possible.”
For Smith, the bigger story isn’t Ohio State’s decision — it’s how Barstool spun the narrative.
“It’s all about PR for him,” Smith said. “As soon as I saw this, I thought, this is a Dave Portnoy special.”
While acknowledging Barstool’s reach, Smith said the “ban” storyline has Portnoy’s fingerprints all over it.
Then, with a touch of humor, Smith added that if bans were truly on the table, he had other names in mind.
“If we are banning people, there’s a list of people I would rather ban,” said Smith. “Desmond Howard has to go. Charles Woodson could get banned. Like, go ahead, there’s a list of guys I would ban from Ohio.”
Smith’s comments reflect a growing sentiment that the Portnoy story is less about Ohio State’s policies and more about keeping Barstool in the news cycle during one of college football’s biggest weekends.
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