Dave Portnoy has ignited a firestorm by calling out Stephen A. Smith’s “insane” claims of racism behind Shedeur Sanders’ NFL Draft snub. As the feud escalates, famous figures like Deion Sanders and powerful media networks are being dragged into the controversy. Is this explosive clash just the beginning of a much bigger battle that could force out top voices and reveal the darkest secrets of sports media?

Dave Portnoy has torn into Stephen A. Smith over his controversial take on Shedeur Sanders’ dramatic NFL Draft slide. 

Once projected as a high first-round pick, Sanders, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, endured a draft nightmare as he was repeatedly snubbed in the first four rounds before finally being taken by the Cleveland Browns with 144th pick. 

The slide – one of the most dramatic in NFL history – caused a stir among fans, analysts, players and even current head coaches with Smith issuing a particularly passionate response.

The ESPN star suggested it could stem from teams’ dislike of Sanders’ father Deion, whilst also likening the situation to that of Colin Kaepernick – the former NFL quarterback has not played in the league since the 2016 season after taking a knee in protest during the national anthem.

But Portnoy furiously hit back at the racism narrative, insisting NFL front offices were acting in the best interest of their teams.

‘This is insane. All these race takes are insane,’ the Barstool Sports chief wrote in response to Smith’s tweet.

Dave Portnoy had torn into Stephen A. Smith over his controversial take on Shedeur Sanders

Sanders endured a draft nightmare as he dramatically slid out of the first four rounds

‘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.

‘There is no collusion. The 1st pick was a black Qb. If teams thought Shedeur and everything he brings could help them win games more than guys available on the board they’d draft him.. Thats it. End of story. Every other narrative is fantasy.’

Smith had suggested that NFL owners had colluded to exile Sanders from the first four rounds of the draft, insisting the snub will forever tarnish this year’s picks.

The ‘First Take’ host took to X, writing: ‘Someone just texted me this message and they are absolutely correct: “This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion.”

‘All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they’re colluding, messing up everything. What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again.’

Sanders had been tipped by many – including his father – to be top-five pick but wasn’t chosen by anyone at all on Thursday and his misery continued during the second and third rounds.

Sanders was helpless again as he watched three other quarterbacks selected ahead of him on Friday, including former Oregon signal caller Dillon Gabriel by the Browns.

His wait finally ended just after 2pm on Saturday, when the Browns selected the ex-Colorado star with the sixth pick of the fifth round. That put an end to one of the most stunning sagas in the history of the NFL Draft.

Portnoy furiously hit back at the racism narrative put forth by the ESPN star on social media

The quartrback was finally taken by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th pick

Sanders had been tipped by many – including his Hall of Fame father, Deion – to be top-five pick

In a curious move, the Browns traded up to the 144th pick to select Sanders in the fifth round on Saturday.

Entering Friday night, many expected Sanders to be taken with the first pick of the second round by the Cleveland Browns. Instead, the Browns passed on him at picks 33 and 36.

Then, in a complete shock, the New Orleans Saints selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the 40th pick.

No other quarterbacks were taken in the rest of the second round, leaving draft analysts confounded by how far Sanders had fallen.

Then came the chaos of the third round. With the 28th pick of the round and the 92nd pick overall, the Seattle Seahawks chose Alabama’s Jalen Milroe in a stunner.

But then two picks later, in perhaps the most staggering development of the night, the Browns took a quarterback by selecting Gabriel, the Oregon gunslinger.

Gabriel had been projected by Kiper as the eighth best quarterback in the draft class.

Months ago, Sanders was believed to be a top-three pick because the teams with those first selections – the Tennessee Titans, Browns, and New York Giants – were all in need of quarterbacks.

Yet, in the weeks leading up to the Draft, there was increasing speculation that Sanders could fall down the order after reportedly giving a bad impression in meetings with multiple NFL teams.

His character in particular had been targeted following the combine with anonymous team sources branding him ‘brash’ and ‘arrogant’ following interviews.