EXCLUSIVE: Dave Portnoy gushes to regain his freedom to head Barstool Sports after takeover deal and vows never to go public again

Dave Portnoy couldn’t be happier to control Barstool Sports again.

This week Portnoy, 46, bought out the company he started in 2003 and told DailyMail.com he pledges never to go public again.

“We were limited because we were in a regulated environment,” Portnoy told DailyMail.com of the former PENN Entertainment owner. “Now we can be an independent media company that can say whatever we want and have no regulations.”

“We don’t care if people don’t like what we say or do. Now we’re going to be ourselves,” he told street reporter Adam Glyn.

Portnoy is known for his flippant remarks and often lewd takes on pop culture, but he assured that despite his newfound freedom, “We’re not going to be hateful, racist, none of that.”

Portnoy founded Barstool Sports as a print publication in Boston in 2003

With Barstool publicly owned, investors and the media have come under intense scrutiny.

In May, former host Ben Mintz was fired by PENN after reading rap lyrics that included the N-Word.

Despite an apology and pleas from Portnoy to keep him on, PENN fired Mintz. PENN’s stock price fell following his layoff.

In one of his first acts as a sole proprietor, Portnoy brought Mintz back.

He and Mintz posted videos of their sides of the same phone call – revealing he was returning to Barstool.

Portnoy told DailyMail.com he would never go public again.

“I made more money than I ever dreamed of in my life with this. I want Barstool to be a place where we don’t care about making money or growing up,” he said. -he declares.

“We’re stressed about creating great content. People show up to work, they’re happy. We’re not driven by the bottom line. We’re driven by making people laugh.

PENN decided to go in a separate direction after striking a deal with ESPN – which has had a frosty relationship with Barstool in the past.

Portnoy told DailyMail.com he had been in talks with PENN for about three weeks and had not dealt with ESPN.

“I want to be more involved and I want us to be us, which I think is a satirical, fun, cutting-edge blog that doesn’t have to worry about public opinion,” did he declare.

Portnoy smiled, saying, “I’m very happy with this deal.”

Portnoy told DailyMail.com: ‘Now we can be an independent media company that can say what we want and has no regulations’

Ben Mintz is back at Barstool Sports after Portnoy bought the company

Mintz had apologized for the insult on Twitter, insisting he meant no harm

Massachusetts-born Portnoy, who has been very vocal about Tom Brady’s love life since his split from model Gisele, told DailyMail.com what he wants for the former New England Patriots quarterback .

“I want someone who treats Tom right, fairly and doesn’t use him to build his profile,” he said. “I want him to be happy.

When rumors swirled that Brady was dating Kim Kardashian, Portnoy took to social media to speak out against the alleged relationship.

“Tom Brady can’t date Kim Kardashian. If he’s not better than that then we men have nothing,” he said.

About the loss of the United States women’s soccer team at the World Cup, he said “it’s a huge bottleneck”.

“They got choked up this year, but if you win two out of three World Cups, that’s a good run. They just got old,” he said.

Portnoy said he hopes Tom Brady finds a woman who ‘treats him fairly and doesn’t use him to build his profile’ as he denied rumors he was seeing Kim Kardashian.

Portnoy made the announcement in a video on Tuesday. “PENN Entertainment and Barstool Sports have parted ways. From that point – while you watch this video – I bought Barstool Sports from PENN,” he said.

PENN had purchased a stake in Barstool for 36% of the company in January 2020, increasing its stake to around 50% by 2023.

Reports at the time of the original deal with PENN indicated that the Chernin Group would retain its 36% stake in the company. It is unclear if Chernin ultimately sold his stake to PENN, or if he sold it to Portnoy as part of this deal.

Portnoy said: “We made this deal about three years ago, and I think both parties were like ‘we’re going to take this thing to the moon’.

“We underestimated how difficult it is for me and Barstool to operate in a regulated world where gambling regulators, The New York Times, Business Insider are hitting with the stock price. Every time we did something, it was one step forward and two steps back.

“We were denied licenses because of me. You name it. So the regulated industry is probably not the best place for Barstool Sports and the type of content we create.

“PENN was able to broker an incredible deal with ESPN. We wish them nothing but the best in their endeavours. It’s truly a win-win.