Conflict Over Political Ad Involving Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy

Dave Portnoy, known as “Presidente” of Barstool Sports, recently expressed his discontent toward a political strategist involved with Graham Platner, a Senate candidate from Maine. The operative reached out to discuss a potential partnership on an ad criticizing private equity’s role in the Boston Red Sox, amid concerns over the team’s owner, John Henry II, and his connections to private equity firms.

Platner’s ad targets these firms and highlights their influence over the Red Sox, due to Henry’s Fenway Sports Group having multiple private equity investors and ownership in NASCAR’s RFK racing team.

On Thursday, political strategist Jeff Coote contacted Portnoy, attempting to gauge his interest in collaborating on a campaign against private equity in sports and to spotlight “Big Bad John Henry.” Portnoy later shared this email exchange publicly on X, which caught a lot of attention.

In the email, Coote described Platner’s approach as having “populist tendencies,” while complimenting Henry by stating, “people are floating like socks.” This unsolicited communication continued the next day, where Coote teasingly referred to Portnoy as “El Presidente.”

Portnoy, however, didn’t take kindly to the situation, replying, “Hi Jeff. This guy is a Nazi, right? Yes, I’d be happy to discuss that tattoo and him being a Nazi.” For context, Portnoy, who is Jewish, was referring to Platner’s controversial tattoo associated with Nazi symbolism.

He wasn’t interested in baseball strategy, expressing, “I’m not really interested in the way he plays baseball.” Coote then asked about connecting with Platner if they could have a productive discussion, but Portnoy seemed skeptical, questioning Coote’s intentions.

Portnoy shot back, “What does that mean? You reached out to the Jews to poop the Nazis. I’m not Bernie Sanders,” referring to the Vermont Senator who has supported Platner. He further challenged Coote to ensure that his son, who he implied isn’t aligned with the Nazi ideology, could engage in a direct conversation with him.

This back-and-forth is especially relevant, as Platner is scrutinized for a tattoo—the Totenkopf symbol—linked to the Nazi Schutzstaffel. After sharing his exchanges on social media, Portnoy noted that Platner’s team is confused about why he would want to “play with Nazis.”

Meanwhile, a game cancellation between the Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins by Fenway’s New England Sportsnet (NESN) on Friday added fuel to the fire. The network stated it routinely cancels ads with credible concerns about the use of intellectual property, tying into Platner’s ad campaign which closely mimicked the team’s branding.

Platner maintains his stance that private equity is harming beloved baseball teams, claiming, “Private equity is buying up our homes, our sports, and our lives.” He ended his ad with a personal note about missing star player Mookie Betts.

As the controversy unfolds, there’s no clear resolution in sight, leaving many questions about the interplay between politics and sports, and how figures like Portnoy navigate such turbulent waters.