Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy has taken aim at his nemesis Roger Goodell over the NFL’s handling of Damar Hamlin’s collapse on the field last week.
The 47-year-old sports blogger commented on the incident in an interview with ‘street journalist’ Adam Glyn, admitting that while officials ultimately made the ‘right’ call to get the Buffalos Bills safety medical attention and end the game, it was no thanks to the NFL commissioner.
Speaking from Miami, Portnoy also accused the league of lying about having no intention of resuming play after Hamlin, 24, collapsed and went into cardiac arrest following a tackle on the field on January 2.
Scroll for video
‘No, I don’t think they handled it well….The right thing happened, they didn’t [resume] play, but if it was up to Goodell they would’ve played,’ Portnoy said.
When Hamlin first collapsed after making a tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, ESPN play-by-play announcer Joe Buck had repeatedly told television viewers that the league planned to resume the game after a five-minute warmup period.
Officials eventually made the decision to suspend the game as concerns for Hamlin’s health grew, but the NFL has since denied there were ever plans to resume.
Portnoy has now disputed those claims saying: ‘They lied. The NFL wanted him to go back and play, right? They had the five minutes, they’re saying it on broadcast…
‘I think what happened was the Bills coach and some of the Bengals were like, “We’re not gonna play right now,” and they took him off the field.’
It was only after the coaches and the players made the call that the NFL ‘reversed course’ and claimed they never intended to play, Portnoy claimed.
‘The NFL only cares about the NFL and ratings, and getting sponsors, and all that,’ he added.
Portnoy has been an outspoken critic of the NFL and has been involved in a number of feuds with its commissioner since he was banned from all league events after he was arrested for protesting Tom Brady’s suspension over the ‘deflategate’ scandal in 2015.
In February 2022, Portnoy also accused Goodell of intervening in Barstool’s attempt to purchase rights to the Buffalo Bills’ stadium, branding him ‘one of the great criminals, villains, dictators of all time.’
Portnoy’s comments come amid a wider controversy surrounding the NFL’s alleged plans to restart the Monday night game, which NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent has denied.
In an interview with the New York Post last week, Buck revealed an NFL representative told the network that play would resume after a five-minute warm up period.
San Francisco Chronicle reporter Mike Silver also reported that the NFL’s ‘first impulse’ was to try to resume play until players and coaches refused and walked off the field.
‘Just that suggestion alone was inappropriate, it was insensitive and, frankly, it lacked both empathy and compassion for Damar’s situation, who is still and was fighting for his life this day. It lacked complete, and it was just so insensitive to think that we were even thinking about returning to play,’ he said.
