Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, a sports and pop culture media company popular mainly among young adults, has threatened to close the company’s Manhattan office shortly before Zohran Mamdani's election win as New York City mayor.
Portnoy’s organization is particularly engaged on college campuses, partnering with college athletics and promoting college sports content.
“I hate the guy,” Portnoy said. “I can’t stand the thought of him running New York City. I can’t stand it. Thirty-something-year-old Communist running New York City who’s never had a job in his life, hates America — doesn’t seem like the best.”
Portnoy, who is Jewish, weighed the pros and cons of moving his business offices from Manhattan.
"Honestly, I’ve given that a lot of thought — he’s definitely going to win — going to Hoboken or Jersey City or something,” Portnoy said. “I don’t want to f**king have an office [in Manhattan]. But then we have all those people who, like, that f**ks up their life because I hate the guy. Like, all the people in the New York office have to go to Jersey City or … Hoboken. So it’s a Catch-22.”
“A part of me is like, how much will actually change? But I really have given it thought,” he continued. “I told our finance guys to start looking around for property, no joke. Take a principled stand.”
After Mamdani was projected to win Tuesday's election, Portnoy posted on X, "Thank god I don’t live there anymore.”
Scott Jennings sums up Mamdani perfectly. But if this is what the people of NYC want than so be it. Thank god I don’t live there anymore. https://t.co/4rfDZqs0rJ
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 5, 2025
Portnoy has been wary of Mamdani for months now, warning in July that the democratic socialist “hates capitalism” and would “blame the victims of 9/11 rather than the terrorists.” And he almost did just that, using his statement about the final Israeli hostages returning home after a Trump-brokered peace deal between Israel and Hamas, to lecture people about Israel's alleged genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Portnoy is just one of many business owners considering moving their company from the city.
