Dave Portnoy breaks his silence on Sam Ponder's ESPN firing after Barstool Sports chief's long-running feud with her
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Dave Portnoy has sounded off on Sam Ponder's ESPN firing after years of beef between the pair.
The football host, along with former quarterback Robert Griffin III, was let go by the network in a cost-cutting measure on Thursday, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand.
And while Portnoy and Ponder have previously engaged in an ugly feud, the Barstool Sports founder said that he holds 'no grudge' against her and that there'd be 'no champagne bottle' to celebrate her ouster.
'I said some things, she held onto them, she played her card - I have no grudge with that... good luck to her on her next step,' he said.
Portnoy still maintains that Ponder was responsible for 'Barstool Van Talk' being canceled by ESPN after one episode, while Ponder has denied that claim.
![Dave Portnoy made a video after Sam Ponder's ESPN firing](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/15/20/88577175-13747997-image-m-31_1723751910690.jpg)
![Sam Ponder is seen on the set of NFL Countdown](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/15/20/88577181-13747997-image-a-32_1723751915842.jpg)
Dave Portnoy claimed he had 'no grudge' with Sam Ponder after her reported ESPN firing
He previously called Ponder a 'Bible thumping freak' in a Barstool Sports blog, and said the main requirement of her ESPN job was to 'make men hard.'
Portnoy also said in a now-deleted podcast episode: 'No person watching [College] GameDay wants to see a picture of her and her ugly kid... We want to see you sex it up and be slutty...'
Nonetheless, he said on Thursday that he had 'buried the axe' in regards to his feud with Ponder, while somewhat sarcastically showing off his wine cellar and 'one of my many, many houses.'
Portnoy added in a subsequent post to X that Ponder 'once ambushed me at a restaurant and got right in my face. We argued for an hour. Gained a ton of respect from me as opposed to people who hide in the shadows.
While Ponder has denied having 'Barstool Van Talk' canceled, she certainly wasn't thrilled about ESPN's partnership with the brand.
!['Barstool Van Talk' with Dan 'Big Cat' Katz and 'PFT Commenter' (aka Eric Sollenberger) was canceled after just one episode](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/15/21/88577517-13747997-_Barstool_Van_Talk_with_Dan_Big_Cat_Katz_and_PFT_Commenter_aka_E-a-34_1723752505524.jpg)
'Barstool Van Talk' with Dan 'Big Cat' Katz and 'PFT Commenter' (aka Eric Sollenberger) was canceled after just one episode
Upon the new show being announced, she sarcastically wrote on social media, 'Welcome to the ESPN family @BarstoolBigCat (& welcome to all ur minions who will respond to this so kindly).'
Ponder had incorrectly identified Barstool personality Dan 'Big Cat' Katz (who did co-host the lone episode of 'Van Talk') as the author of the Portnoy blog where he called her child 'ugly.'
Ponder later said she 'specifically' asked for 'Van Talk' not to be canceled and that she was even willing to appear on the show - but Katz called that characterization a 'flat out lie.'
'I asked multiple people to reach out and set up a meeting when it was clear she wanted the show cancelled,' he said on X. 'That’s the truth.”