Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy Explains Why He's Rooting Against USA Basketball

FOXBORO, MA – SEPTEMBER 07: Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy looks on prior to the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 7, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

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Dave Portnoy will not be rooting for Team USA to win gold in men’s basketball on Saturday.

Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports and a diehard Boston Celtics fan, took to Twitter/X and explained that he’ll be rooting for France to beat Team USA because of Steve Kerr’s disrespect to Jayson Tatum.

“I want France to beat them by 1,000 points,” Portnoy said in a video. “I don’t care that I’m American. The disrespect that Steve Kerr has shown Jayson Tatum throughout this tournament makes me hate this team.”

I want to be very clear. I am rooting for France to beat the USA in the gold medal basketball game. My allegiences are far stronger to @jaytatum0 than dodo brain Steve Kerr and Bron Bron. 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷 https://t.co/2saZUmkgb6 pic.twitter.com/2WuHCt2J7m

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) August 9, 2024

Kerr benched Tatum for the first matchup against Serbia and felt like an “idiot” afterward. It then happened again on Thursday when the two countries played in the semifinals.

Tatum didn’t play in either game against Serbia and it’s led to a lot of outrage from fans online, not just Portnoy. He just helped the Celtics win an NBA title and people think he should be helping Team USA win gold after he was brought over.

Time will tell if he gets some minutes during Saturday’s gold medal game against France. The U.S. is going for another gold in men’s basketball and will try to go undefeated overall this year.

Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.