It’s been nearly two years since Dave Portnoy’s explosive words toward Angel Reese lit up the internet — and now, the Barstool Sports founder is finally doubling down. No apology. No walk-back. Just pure, unapologetic Portnoy.

The feud began during the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. LSU’s Angel Reese taunted Iowa star Caitlin Clark with the “You Can’t See Me” hand gesture and a pointed ring finger celebration that instantly went viral. Social media erupted — some praised Reese for her competitive fire, while others accused her of poor sportsmanship.

Then came Portnoy’s tweet that would shake sports media to its core.

“When she was going around doing that and I called her a classless piece of sh!t,” he recalled in a new interview, “I meant it. I still mean it.”

At the time, those words ignited a cultural firestorm. Critics called him a bully. Others accused him of targeting a young Black woman unfairly. ESPN panels debated the meaning of “trash talk” in women’s sports. For days, Portnoy’s name dominated headlines.

Now, in true Portnoy fashion, he’s not backing down. “I call it like I see it,” he said flatly. “If a guy acted like that, I’d say the same thing. I wasn’t trying to make it political or racial. It was about how she carried herself in that moment.”

That bluntness has long been both Portnoy’s weapon and his curse. The founder of Barstool Sports has made a career out of saying what others won’t — often at the cost of outrage, bans, and viral backlash. But for his loyal audience, that raw honesty is exactly why they keep listening.

Still, the question lingers: did he go too far?

Angel Reese’s gesture was, after all, part of a larger story — a rivalry that electrified women’s basketball and brought millions of new fans to the sport. Reese herself later said, “I’m unapologetically me.” Her teammates called it confidence, not disrespect.

To Portnoy, that doesn’t change a thing. “I don’t hate her,” he clarified. “She’s a great player. But sportsmanship matters. You can win with swagger without crossing the line. I thought she crossed it. So, yeah, I said what I said.”

It’s a perspective that continues to divide sports fans. Some see Portnoy as the last honest voice in a media world that’s gone soft — someone unafraid to say uncomfortable truths. Others believe his comments were part of a toxic pattern that tears down athletes, especially women, for showing the same fire celebrated in men.

“Dave’s never been one to play nice,” one former Barstool insider noted. “He thrives in chaos. The more people get mad, the more it feeds him. That’s his superpower — and his downfall.”

Yet, despite the backlash, Portnoy insists there’s a bigger point buried in all the noise. “It’s not about her. It’s about a double standard. People want emotion in sports until they don’t like how it looks. Then they pick sides. I’m just consistent.”

Whether that consistency makes him fearless or reckless depends on who you ask. But there’s no denying this: in a time when public figures are quick to issue PR-crafted apologies, Portnoy remains one of the few who never does.

Love him or hate him, he doesn’t flinch — and that’s why his words still dominate the conversation years later.

As the clip of his original comment continues to resurface online, the debate refuses to die. Was it fair criticism or a step too far? Was he defending sportsmanship or stoking outrage for clicks?

Even now, Portnoy seems unfazed by the noise. “People can cancel me all they want,” he said with a smirk. “I’ve built my career on not caring. I said what I thought — and I’ll say it again tomorrow.”

It’s that relentless authenticity — raw, divisive, unfiltered — that keeps Dave Portnoy exactly where he wants to be: in the center of controversy, with the whole sports world still arguing about a single sentence.