Dave Portnoy points finger at Ohio State as ban drama escalates

The tables have turned. Dave Portnoy is seemingly not banned from Ohio State.

The university told Yahoo Sports that it had not issued a ban against the Barstool Sports founder a day after FOS reported the Michigan alum was persona non grata ahead of his first spin on Fox’s “Big Nook Kickoff” show, which will be in Columbus for the Buckeyes’ season-opener against No. 1 Texas at Ohio Stadium.

Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said it was Fox’s decision to not have Portnoy on the show’s desk, which in turn would not allow Portnoy from being on the field inside the stadium.

On Tuesday, Portnoy said otherwise — while wearing a Michigan hat — in a nearly six-minute retort on X.

“This is a unique spot for me because I always just sling it and say what’s happening,” Portnoy said. “Barstool is an independent pirate ship. We work for ourselves. That’s why people love us. We don’t filter anything, we don’t hide anything. Now, we’ve formed this big relationship with Fox and I’m always cognizant of our partners and try to do right by them. And they definitely got put in a weird spot because they didn’t see this, how could anybody see that crying Ryan Day and Ohio State would be this soft?”

Portnoy went on to say that he has already known about the ban for a week and a half.

“We canceled our production. We had to pay a fee — a late fee — all that stuff for not coming to Ohio State in Columbus,” he said.

The ban, to Portnoy, is coming from the two schools’ rivalry as the Buckeyes are drowning in the middle of a four-game losing streak to the Wolverines.

“When one team beats your f–king face in for an entire decade, when your archrival is stomping on your neck and you can’t breathe, you do crazy things,” he said. “They ban me from coming to the stadium. They ban our show from being on campus. And I feel bad that Fox is in the middle of it.”

“Just own what you do. Just own what you do,” Portnoy concluded. “Don’t hide. ‘Oh we didn’t ban him.’ You banned me. You’re scared of Michigan and the only way you guys are going to compete with us again is you can look yourselves in the mirror and be honest with yourselves….Don’t point the finger. “

The Post has reached out to Fox for comment.

Last month, Fox announced Portnoy is joining its college football show in a deal that includesd Barstool Sports’ “The Barstool College Football Show” that will be streaming on Fox Sports’ digital channels as well as Tubi before “Big Noon Kickoff.”

A source also told Front Office Sports that it was never in Fox’s plans for Portnoy to enter the stadium on Saturday, but that they did anticipate an issue given the rivalry.

About an hour after posting the video, Portnoy posted on X again, urging Ohio State to focus on the highly anticipated game against Texas.

“Ohio State should stop worrying about Michigan,” he wrote. “Focus on Texas. Big game coming up. Don’t let your Michigan inferiority complex destroy your entire season.”

The No. 3 Buckeyes will kick off their season at 12 p.m. on Saturday.