Dave Portnoy Blasts Stephen A. Smith Saying NFL Draft Snubbed Shedeur Sanders Over Race: ‘Pure Fantasy’
Dave Portnoy pushed back on theories spreading over the weekend that quarterback Shedeur Sanders, originally considered a top prospect, went unpicked in first, second, and third rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft due to racism in the league.
Through three rounds of the draft, no team selected Sanders, despite the former Colorado quarterback entering Thursday as one of the most high-profile players in this year’s class.
Several other quarterbacks, including Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, and Jalen Milroe, were taken ahead of him.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reacted strongly to the snub on X, posting two messages criticizing the NFL over Sanders’ draft status.
In one tweet, Smith called the situation “a damn disgrace” and referenced Colin Kaepernick, suggesting the son of Deion Sanders was being “kept out” of the league.
In a follow-up post, Smith shared a message he said he received that compared the situation to “Kaepernick-level collusion” and criticized NFL owners.
While Smith did not explicitly cite racism, Kaepernick alleged collusion in the NFL against him over his kneeling during the national anthem.
Other users on X openly blamed racism for Sanders’ draft slide.
Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, responded to Smith Saturday morning and rejected the notion that racism played a role in Sanders’ draft outcome.
“This is insane. All these race takes are insane,” Portnoy wrote. “I love Deion. And I’ve been saying for 2 years Shedeur would be my 1st QB off the board. BUT NFL GMs, coaches, owners will do ANYTHING to win games, save jobs. The NFL is cut throat. Owners would stomp on each other’s throats to win.”
Portnoy pointed out that the first pick of the draft was Ward, a Black quarterback, and said teams prioritize winning above all else.
“If teams thought Shedeur and everything he brings could help them win games more than guys available on the board they’d draft him. That’s it. End of story. Every other narrative is fantasy.”
