Dave Portnoy accuses ABC of ‘bait and switch’ in heated interview over antisemitic ‘f—k the Jews’ sign at Barstool bar

Dave Portnoy said a local ABC news affiliate tried to “bait and switch” him during an interview about the incident involving an antisemitic sign at his Barstool Sansom Street bar in Philadelphia on Saturday.

In a video posted to his social media on Monday, the Barstool Sports founder included a partial recording of the interview, which showed him in a “contentious” exchange with an unnamed female reporter, who he said tried to “ambush” him by blaming him and his company for the incident.

Portnoy claimed the reporter “tried to say Barstool and I and white men were responsible for the incident,” — during which a sign that said “F–k the Jews” was displayed by bottle girls at the club in a now-viral video on social media.

Warning: Graphic language

“ABC News Philadelphia, they reached out, they begged me to do an interview,” Portnoy said in the video. “They gave me the reporter’s name, and then they do a bait and switch and a new reporter shows up to do it this morning.

“She starts OK, asking questions about the bar, how’d it happen, responsibility, blah blah blah, and then she shifts and then she does what a media scumbag does.

“She pulls a quote out of her ass from I don’t even know, a made-up journal, some professor… They say that Barstool Sports creates a culture of harassment and that basically I’m responsible for this happening at my own bar. I’ve never heard of the quote.

“Oh, you’re saying some f–king liberal college professor said they don’t like Barstool? So I was like ‘who f–king said it and what is this journal? We go back and forth and Austin starts taping it.”

Portnoy included a recording, which showed him in a tense back and forth with the reporter during the virtual interview.

“I don’t like quotes that I have no idea where they’re coming from,” Portnoy said of the statement the reporter claimed came from professors at the University of Virginia. “I totally disagree with what you just said. Who is creating more hate right now in the world, would you say Barstool Sports and white men or on college campuses? … That was a question to you.”

The reporter responded, “I’m the journalist.”

Portnoy, who said he agreed to do the interview because it was local to his bar, didn’t back down.

“I don’t play by those rules,” he said. “What does that mean? You’re a journalist? I’m a journalist. I run a big media organization. I just asked you a question.”

“You’re not running this interview,” the reporter said.

“Alright then the interview is over,” Portnoy replied before shutting his laptop.

On Monday, 6ABC published a story written by Katie Katro about Portnoy speaking out after learning of the antisemitic message displayed at his Philadelphia bar, but they did not mention their interview with him.

As of Monday, it doesn’t appear the interview was published.

Warning: Graphic language

In a separate video addressing the the incident, Portnoy said the servers involved in displaying the sign, were fired and that he reached out to Philadelphia authorities.

He later added that he wanted it to be a teachable moment.

Students of Temple University reportedly were involved in ordering the antisemitic sign.

Temple’s president, John Fry, said the university placed one student found to be involved on interim suspension, according to 6ABC.

Philadelphia police and the ADL are investigating the incident.

“I’m sending the people who ordered the “F–k Jews” signs at my bar to Auschwitz to learn about the Holocaust. Rather than ruin a couple 20 year olds lives maybe this can be used as a teaching moment,” Portnoy wrote on Instagram.

Barstool Sansom Street posted a statement on social media apologizing for the incident and confirming that several employees were terminated from the their positions after a full investigation.

“We take all forms of discrimination incredibly seriously and are particularly upset by the actions taken against our Jewish patrons, colleagues, partners and friends… This unfortunate incident is the opposite of what we stand for, and we will be doubling down on efforts to prevent such actions in the future,” the statement said in part.