Dave Portnoy Gets Backlash Over Ridiculing Balding College Athlete

After Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy recently made a low blow over the receding hairline of a college football player, it didn't take long for the bald community to come rallying around the sophomore.

The target of Portnoy's ridicule was Pittsburgh Panthers offensive lineman Ryan Baer, who was playing in the GameAbove Sports Bowl post-season game at Ford Field on Thursday, which ended up going into a bowl record of six overtimes. At one point, the camera caught Baer—who according to ESPN, clocks in at a massive six-foot-seven and 325 pounds—at a bad angle, showing the back of his head.

"This 6OT game just blessed us with this hairline. How old are college kids again?" Portnoy quipped in a social media post that has since been viewed over nine million times.

This 6OT game just blessed us with this hairline. How old are college kids again? pic.twitter.com/yaysEcxukH

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 26, 2024

As the post went viral, some commenters suggested that Portnoy might also be follically-challenged if it weren't for advancements in medical science. "He needs to go to the guy you went to," wrote one user while another added, "I wouldn’t be talking if I was getting hair plugs every other year Dave."

However, before long, the post caught the attention of Baer himself, who quoted the post, adding a succinct, "Damn." That was when he received the support of others like him, such as famously bald Monday Night Countdown host Scott Van Pelt, who chimed in: "Dude, it’s fine. Fine."

Dude, it’s fine.

Fine.

— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) December 27, 2024

Former Chicago Bears guard Kyle Long also jumped into the fray, telling Baer that he "looks tremendous." The same goes for sports broadcaster Mike Golic Jr., who empathized with the college student, adding, "It’s alright brother, bad camera angles happen to the best of us."

Still, Portnoy didn't let up. In a subsequent post quoting Baer's remark, he wrote: "This dude is gonna parlay his receding hairline into a job isn’t he?"

This dude is gonna parlay his receding hairline into a job isn’t he? https://t.co/XQl0yJVirg

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 27, 2024

Unfortunately, to add insult to injury, Pittsburgh ultimately ended losing the game 41–39 to the Toledo Rockets. Perhaps an endorsement deal with Hims would soothe the sting of both the loss and burn.