Dave Portnoy comments on Pat McAfee dispute with University of Utah

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy weighed in on the controversy involving former NFL player Pat McAfee and the University of Utah. The dispute began after a video of Utah students impersonating McAfee was posted on the university's official Instagram account, prompting McAfee to criticize the posting on his show.

"If these kids would have done this on their own blogs, all good," McAfee said, adding that the university’s involvement made him feel uncomfortable.

Portnoy shared a past video of himself receiving a warm reception at Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium and said he enjoyed his previous visits, noting that the recent incident did not appear serious to him.

"I just posted. I went to Utah. It was awesome. So, I don’t really know what—I saw the video. It didn’t seem that [bad]," Portnoy told viewers during a livestream.

ESPN released a statement emphasizing its commitment to the safety of its on-air talent and crew, and expressed support for McAfee’s concerns.

"The safety and security of our on-air team, crew and fans is paramount at College GameDay. We are committed to ensuring a safe environment, and given the very real threats that members of our team face, we take issues involving their safety seriously. We support Pat and recognize the very real and valid concerns he has around safety and security," an ESPN spokesperson told The Athletic.

The University of Utah also issued a statement apologizing for any perception that McAfee was unwelcome and reaffirmed that the university welcomes ESPN and its personnel.

"We sincerely apologize for creating any perception that Pat was unsafe or unwelcome on our campus. Nothing could be further from the truth. Pat and the entire GameDay crew are always welcome at the University of Utah and we deeply appreciate the opportunity ESPN provides to showcase our university and community," the university said.

Portnoy concluded that the situation was unexpected but maintained his positive view of Utah.