A 20-year-old student allegedly made antisemitic remarks and threw coins at Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy as he was filming a pizza review video in Mississippi.
During the review, which was recorded on Friday, a young man can be heard saying “F*** the Jews” from nearby as Portnoy speaks into the camera.
A crowd around the media mogul responded angrily to the attacks, while Portnoy himself casually called out to the man to come on camera.
As members of the public apologized to the commentator, Portnoy responded, “That’s alright. There’s a**holes everywhere you go.”
Police in Starkville, home of Mississippi State University, arrested Patrick McClintock, 20, on Monday morning over the incident on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace.
“Every person has the right to feel safe and respected in our community,” the Starkville Police Department told the Reflector student newspaper. “Offensive words alone are protected, but when behavior disrupts a public event or risks violence, the Starkville Police Department will take steps to help maintain safety and security.”
McClintock, who was released on a $2,500 bond, withdrew from MSU on Monday afternoon, a university spokesperson told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper.
The Independent has contacted McClintock for comment.
When the full video of the review was posted on Monday, Portnoy elaborated on his reaction to the incident.
“I don’t want sympathy or apologies,” he said. “I want outrage and I had it. And that actually makes me feel pretty f***ng good that people were like, ‘This is f***ing crazy.’”
In an interview about the incident on CBS Sunday Morning, Portnoy said he’s personally seen a spike in antisemitism, with attacks against him “every day now.”
“For me, being a Jewish person, like, you got to step up,” he said. “You’re kind of someone people look up to in the Jewish community. You have to be, like, ‘All right, this is not normal ha-ha with the guys. People are coming up with real hate.'”
Earlier this year, Portnoy offered to send customers accused of antisemitic actions at a Barstool-branded pub in Philadelphia on an educational tour of Auschwitz, the former Nazi concentration camp in Poland.
Last year, hate crimes were just shy of their 2023 record, according to FBI data. Jewish Americans were the second-most targeted group after Black Americans, despite making up less than two percent of the U.S. population.
