Most people — including Bears quarterback Caleb Williams — probably didn’t think much of it.
To them, it’s just a repost on X that went after a common target for keyboard warriors. But what if it’s more than that?
Earlier in the week, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy mocked Williams, calling him a “thespian” after he was carted off the field for what was revealed to be a hamstring strain. Portnoy said the emotion Williams displayed was akin to what you’d see for a season-ending injury such as an ACL tear, not a tweak that’s put him on a week-to-week basis.
Williams didn’t take too kindly to the call-out, and went after Dave on X — using not his own words but those of a poster named Daemar.
”The guy that had a kid arrested and expelled from school for throwing pennies at him is calling someone else soft LMFAOOOOOO,” Daemar said of Portnoy.
Williams reposted the comment — which garnered 1.3 million views and 35K likes — to little media or fan criticism. Except … Daemar was running cover for a clear antisemite.
Here’s a more thorough explanation.
In the fall of 2025, Mississippi State student Patrick McClintock was caught on camera yelling “F—k the Jews!” before tossing coins at Portnoy, who’s Jewish.
This wasn’t a random gesture. The American Jewish Committee made note that such coin-tossing is an “age-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed.” Portnoy posted a video of the affair and condemned the act — calling the student a “loser” while decrying an uptick in his personal antisemitic experiences.
As Outkick’s Armando Salguero pointed out, McClintock was later arrested independently for disturbing the peace.
In other words, Portnoy blasted an antisemite in a time when antisemitism is on the clear rise. Sorry, but that does not disqualify you from ridiculing a quarterback for being melodramatic.
Portnoy has since responded to Williams’ repost by accusing him of spreading misinformation about him. And though he seemed to make a peace offering by saying “I will not hold this against Caleb…I’m rooting for him and all of Chicago,” one has to wonder what the response would have been like if the repost had been in a different context.
For instance, if there had been a highly publicized anti-Black incident on a college campus, I doubt reposting an X user dismissing the affair would be treated so warmly by social media users. If there had been a homophobic or anti-woman gesture, there likely would have been a media uproar if a prominent athlete condoned it.
Look what happened to Texas quarterback Arch Manning when he laughed at an AI meme involving ESPN’s Holly Rowe getting slapped by Steve Sarkisian. He was shamed into apologizing for something that was fake. Portnoy being blatantly discriminated against for being Jewish was very real.
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
Emails attempting to reach the Bears and NFL for comment were not returned, and that’s understandable. Williams probably didn’t know exactly what he was reposting, and giving this matter any extra attention doesn’t help the team or the league.
It’s also predictable that much of the public seems to side with Williams on this issue. They probably don’t know the full extent of what Portnoy — a highly polarizing figure — endured in Starkville that day.
But it is noteworthy how different types of discrimination are treated. Some are condemned swiftly and harshly, others are shrugged off almost entirely.
Portnoy has been a strong critic of cancel culture and clearly doesn’t want to see Williams suffer anymore than he has. He took the path of forgiveness and will be better off for it.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don’t think Williams needs forgiveness. They simply don’t think he did anything wrong.
