Days after an individual interrupted Dave Portnoy with antisemitic comments while the Barstool Sports founder was filming a pizza review, the alleged heckler was arrested by the state of Mississippi.
According to a report by TMZ, the Starkville Police Department has arrested 20-year-old Patrick McClintock, charging him with “disturbing the peace” after he allegedly yelled “F*ck the Jews” and threw coins at Portnoy.
Twitter identify this man pic.twitter.com/jHs82ozhVv
— Tarnished (@LikelyTarnished) November 7, 2025
The Barstool owner was in town for his company’s college football pregame show as Georgia traveled to Mississippi State on Saturday.
TMZ says McClintock was processed on Monday and then released. A Public Information Officer for the Starkville Police Department told the website, “Every person has the right to feel safe and respected in our community. Offensive words alone are protected, but when behavior disrupts a public event or risks violence, the Starkville Police Department will take steps to help maintain safety and security.” The officer added, “The State of Mississippi allows courts to impose enhanced penalties if a violation meets the criteria for bias-motivated or discriminatory reasons. This remains under investigation.”
On Sunday, CBS’s Sunday Morning revealed that Portnoy would appear in an interview with Tony Dokoupil next week to discuss the rise of antisemitism in the United States.
In a clip promoting the interview, Portnoy said, “I’ve seen in my own experience, just being Barstool, the difference between how much hate I get. I never got — I mean, occasionally you get, ‘Hey k*ke’ or ‘Jew’ or whatever. It’s every day now. Like, there’s a definitive shift in what’s going on. So, yes, now I, for me, being a Jewish person, you got to step up. You’re kind of someone people look up to in the Jewish community, you have to be like, ‘Alright, this is not normal ‘ha ha’ with the guys,’ people are coming in with real hate.”
Over the weekend, Portnoy attended the New England Patriots-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who founded the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in 2019. Portnoy has frequently called out antisemitic behavior and remarks in the past, including at one of his Barstool-branded bars in Philadelphia earlier this year.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.