Dave Portnoy defends keeping ‘Big Ev’ at Barstool: ‘I haven’t fired anybody for any sort of vice’

Dave Portnoy is pushing back on critics who have questioned Barstool’s decision to keep Evan “Big Ev” McDowell on staff following his admittance of a gambling addiction and the allegations that preceded his absence from the company.

“Listen, I haven’t fired anybody for any sort of vice, addiction, anything,” Portnoy said. “You take time off, you work on yourself, you help yourself, and you have a job waiting for you. And I’ve had people in the 20 years of Barstool who have gone away, taken time for everything under the sun, and none of them — zero — have been canned for any of it. So, why would this be different?”

Dave Portnoy explains why Big Ev wasn’t fired https://t.co/Nll27zvdYR pic.twitter.com/NkDhZAf7q0

— RGF (@rgfray1) June 24, 2026

“Incredibly grateful for Dave standing by me and letting me go get help,” McDowell wrote on X, in response to Portnoy’s defense of his return. “Loyal as it gets. I made mistakes that I’m sorry for and regret, but the narrative that I stole from our fans is 100% not true, and any debt has been paid. Nothing else to say about it.”

Portnoy also dismissed the criticism as “noise,” arguing that the backlash had actually driven more engagement around Sports Central than the show had generated in years. He then pushed back against the framing of Barstool as a gambling company, pointing to the breadth of its advertising relationships — including alcohol — and noting that the company has a long history of supporting employees through various personal struggles, none of whom have lost their jobs for it.

@dailydoseofyak Big Ev is untouchable it seems Dave Portnoy says that Barstool won’t fire anyone over a vice or an addiction DDTG 6-24-2026 On Dave Portnoy X #barstoolsports #daveportnoy #barstool #bigev ♬ original sound – Yaksnaps

Awful Announcing first reported in early April that McDowell had abruptly vanished from Picks Central and gone dark on social media amid a growing wave of allegations from fans and followers claiming he had solicited introductions to illegal bookmakers and then failed to pay his losing bets. The accusations included screenshots circulated widely showing fans in varying states of desperation, some pleading with McDowell to cover debts that had climbed as high as $17,000, others describing being held personally responsible by bookies after vouching for him.

McDowell was quietly removed from DraftKings’ Picks Central promotional materials. The show disabled its live chat after the allegations triggered a flood of questions from viewers. Neither Barstool nor McDowell issued any statement. The only on-air acknowledgment came from Kirk Minihane, who said on his own podcast that McDowell “clearly has some issues beyond that” before admitting he had no official knowledge of the situation, and from Adam “Rone” Ferrone, who noted the volume of Big Ev questions coming through the chat before essentially asking what anyone expected him to say about it.

Two months of silence ended on June 10, when McDowell posted a video to social media confirming he had checked himself into a residential treatment facility and spent just over a month there.

“I’m a gambling addict, and it just got way out of control,” he said. “I needed to go to a treatment center, get help, admit that I’m powerless over it.”

Twelve days later, McDowell was back on air on a show that no longer looked quite like the one he left. Picks Central had been rebranded as Sports Central, scrubbed of its explicit gambling identity, and stripped of its DraftKings sponsorship. McDowell called the treatment he received “a much-needed thing that had to happen” and said he was glad to be back doing what he loves.