Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy denied sexual misconduct allegations posted by Insider on Thursday, accusing the outlet of focusing on him for a “strike piece.”
Two girls, who went by pseudonyms for fear of retaliation, accused Portnoy of turning sexual encounters violent and humiliating, in accordance to Insider. Both equally girls allege in the report that the incidents transpired at Portnoy’s Nantucket property in the summertime of 2020.
Portnoy posted two videos to Twitter on Thursday defending himself and denying the allegations, accusing Insider of drafting a “hit piece” towards him. He also alleged that the reporter, Julia Black, sought out a predetermined narrative, “like the story was now composed.”
“I’m terrified simply because they are asking for more. It is like they are inquiring the online, ‘Tell us undesirable tales about Dave Portnoy,’” he explained, including that a great deal of people despise him. “I warranty this: they’ll never be ready to confirm something. Nothing, simply because nothing’s at any time occurred. But I just cannot stop a he mentioned, she claimed.”
In a statement to NBC Information, Insider defended reporter Julia Black and mentioned it stands by its reporting. The write-up commenced as an assignment in March to profile Portnoy but evolved following an allegation uncovered by the reporter, Insider said.
“Around mid-April, our reporter spoke with a girl about what she described as a scary sexual come across with Portnoy,” Insider explained. “A draft was in the performs by that place, but we resolved we would be remiss to not examine further more. We inevitably read from additional women and the further reporting led the posting in a new and sudden path.”
NBC Information has not independently confirmed the allegations described by Insider.
One particular youthful lady, who went by the identify Madison, instructed Insider that she commenced immediate messaging with Portnoy on Instagram very last calendar year, when she was 20 and he was 43. She alleged that Portnoy offered her a to start with-course ticket to his house in Nantucket and that she started to truly feel awkward through oral intercourse when he filmed her with no asking for consent.
She alleged that the encounter escalated from there, and that Portnoy ignored her when she cried out telling him it was “too much” but he only “went tougher.”
“It was so agonizing,” Madison informed Insider. “I stored striving to get absent and he was like, ‘Stop operating absent from me. Prevent working away from me.’”
Insider also incorporated screenshots of text messages Madison allegedly despatched a friend subsequent the encounter, exactly where she equated the experience to “being raped” and extra that he choked her so really hard she could not breathe.
Portnoy denied the female ever telling him to end in his video clip response Thursday, wherever he stated he was only ready to remember who it was due to the fact of a certain depth of her sleeping on his sofa. He reported the two experienced been messaging for additional than a thirty day period, but recognized in individual they did not get together.
“We did have pizza, hung out, hooked up,” Portnoy mentioned. At no place through — at no level — was it not 100 % consensual. At no issue did she check with me to cease, at no stage did both us feel some thing unseemly transpired. There was no weirdness right after. It was thoroughly good, typical conversation … 100 p.c consensual.”
Another girl, who went by the pseudonym Allison, also alleged that Portnoy experienced rough sex with her in July 2020, following her high faculty graduation. Allison instructed Insider that it was typical for locals in the New England region to “try to land an invitation to Portnoy’s house” for his functions.
Allison alleged that she started messaging with Portnoy soon after her older sister inspired her, and she eventually landed an invitation, but he explained her buddies had been not invited. She declined the first invitation, she informed Insider, owing to her discomfort with heading by yourself.
She was invited yet again weeks later on and approved after she described getting pushed by her mates. Allison alleged that she experienced “aggressive” sex with Portnoy, which she mentioned included choking, and he kicked her out afterward.
“He saved spitting in my mouth, which was seriously gross,” Allison explained to Insider. “I was form of afraid. I didn’t want to disappoint him.”
She alleged that she was hospitalized for depression and suicidal ideation a few nights soon after the incident and that her mom contacted Nantucket law enforcement. She declined to pursue expenses, she explained to Insider.
Nantucket Police spokesman Lt. Angus MacVicar told NBC Information on Friday the division had not obtained a cell phone connect with as described in the Insider write-up and he experienced not spoken to Black. MacVicar also added that the department was not now investigating Portnoy.
Insider claimed that it had received a police report with an incident amount, which it later shared on Twitter, by means of a Liberty of Information and facts Act ask for and that a researcher had spoken with the department in the training course of its reporting.
Portnoy did not deny owning intercourse with the youthful female, incorporating that it was “awful” if she felt depressed after their come upon. He also claimed he has hardly ever been contacted by law enforcement in regards to the incident.
He also showed messages involving him and the girl, alleging that she prompt to fulfill him at a bar which produced him presume she was at minimum 21 at the time.
“To me which is quite black and white…it is this kind of a peculiar place to be in for the reason that it’s a sensitive problem and these allegations are horrific,” Portnoy explained. “But they’re declaring she’s so depressed by me, suicidal nearly. But she was constantly hitting me up to hang out. … I really don’t know.”
Barstool Athletics stated in a statement Thursday that it was not in the “organization of controlling our employees’ private lives,” but that it encourages personnel to share fears about their perform natural environment.
“This latest news does not require any place of work actions,” the enterprise stated. “As a matter of coverage, we do not remark on the non-public lives of our personnel, but we acquire this subject critically and are checking it closely.”
