Dave Portnoy said he “panicked” when he realized he and 25-year-old Camryn D’Aloia were featured on the live broadcast during Monday’s Game 4 of the Celtics-Heat first-round playoff series.
The Barstool Sports founder — who made headlines when he and D’Aloia appeared camera shy while sitting over the shoulders of announcers Brian Anderson and Stan Van Gundy — explained that he turned down a courtside seat at Kaseya Center in Miami because he did not want to be seen, and he eventually purchased different tickets to escape the cameras mid-game.
“Very unfortunate set of circumstances, I’ll say that,” Portnoy said during the latest installment of his “BFFs” podcast with Josh Richards and Brianna Chickenfry. “Because … Well, I’m sensitive still to the fact I’m six months, five-and-a-half months out of a relationship, so being seen on a date or with a girl, it was not what I was trying to do.”
Portnoy, who is a diehard Celtics fan and has a home in Miami, split with influencer Silvana Mojica late last year after three years together.
The ex-couple previously took in Celtics games during their relationship.
“If you know how I enjoy Celtics games, generally [sitting] center court, on the wood, loud, proud. I’m friends with this girl, we’ve hung out … it’s not boyfriend-girlfriend, obviously,” Portnoy said. “She’s from Boston, so [she’s] a Celtics fan. I don’t want to point the finger. I turned down courtside [seats] … I don’t want to be pictured, I don’t want to be on TV, I don’t want any of it.”
“… We walk in, sit down and I know instantly I have a problem. No idea where these tickets were. They are right behind the broadcaster. It was the two worst tickets — and there’s the reaction, like, ‘What the f–k.”
“We sat down and it’s like, ‘We are f–ked.’ That’s the initial [reaction]. You can see us on the screen. I think I told her, ‘Just don’t panic, just don’t panic,’ because this girl does not want to be — you guys can appreciate that there is a level of notoriety that stinks when you’re well known. We just wanted to go to the Celtics game.”
Portnoy and D’Aloia left their seats at one point, as seen on the broadcast, and he purchased another pair of tickets in real time to escape the spotlight.
“So, we get the f–k out of there. I bought two tickets in real time in different seats and moved just three row a back and out of the way. We did not want to be on camera … I should have known better. I panicked … the camera guy starts talking to me. He’s like, ‘What kind of pizza do you like?’ I was sweating,” Portnoy said.
“… The poor girl. It happened so fast and then we were like we can’t sit here. Literally, we just moved back three rows … [Initially] I went out of my way to be like where can I sit where it on’t be on TV. I just wanted to watch the game. It didn’t work out like that at all.”
Portnoy recalled questioning if he should attend the game because he couldn’t get tickets, but a Barstool employee offered him two tickets.
Chickenfry chimed in: “The internet found her fast.”
Portnoy explained that his blonde companion “doesn’t want to be found” and he didn’t want the situation to become a spectacle.
“The guy, the announcer right before he turns [and says], ‘Oh they’re gonna love having you on TV,’” Portnoy said. “I froze, I had nowhere to go. Do you just get up and leave the game? We didn’t have our other tickets yet.
“It sucked … Imagine just being a pedestrian. She’s a pedestrian and you’re just thrown in. She opened her Instagram and was like, ‘I have 9,000 Instagram requests.”
The 47-year-old Barstool mogul admitted he “felt guilty, although I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
Portnoy added that it wasn’t a first date with D’Aloia.
“She had an awful time,” he said. “She could not enjoy the game at all.”
When Chickenfry asked if D’Aloia is the person behind the camera of his viral videos of his rescue dog, Miss Peaches, Portnoy said, “No, I mean she’s done a couple.”
It marked the first time Portnoy was seen publicly with another woman after his split with Mojica.
He added that people are “assholes” on social media because they were tagging his ex in posts about the Celtics game.
Portnoy previously admitted their split was “probably a me-issue,” and that he didn’t think “the guy that she is looking for and is going to be able to provide her with what she needs down the road.”
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