Dez Bryant calls out Stephen A. Smith and Dave Portnoy to settle differences in the ring amid social media feud

Former Dallas Cowboys wideout has challenged two of the most popular personalities in sports media to a boxing fight.

Dez Bryant calls out Stephen A. Smith and Dave Portnoy to settle differences in the ring amid social media feud

L-R: Stephen A. Smith, Dez Bryant, and Dave Portnoy (via Open Source/X)

Dez Bryant has shifted his priority from going after NFL wideout receiver records to going after media reporters. The former Dallas Cowboy went on a rampage on X as he called out Stephen A. Smith of ESPN and Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, one of the top media houses in the nation.

Bryant challenged Stephen A. and Portnoy to a boxing match. He wants to settle his scores with them by stepping into the ring with them.

Bryant was triggered by the fact that the media has “had my name in there mouth multiple times.” He further called Dave Portnoy a “f***ing nutcase” and disrespected him and Barstool Sports for the work they do. Why would the media talk about Bryant when he has not played in an NFL game since 2020? Well, the wideout’s primary issue is with the media’s portrayal of his career and his personality.

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Stephen A. Smith has not been overly critical of Dez Bryant to an extent where there is an undeniable reason for bad blood to exist between them, the wideout confirmed the same via a tweet that he has no direct beef with Smith but he does have an issue with the corporation Stephen A. is the face of, ESPN. The former Dallas Cowboy called ESPN and Barstool sports “culture vultures.”

Dez Bryant is sick of the media tarnishing his image

The reason Bryant is calling out Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports is due to a joke that the media house made. The joke indicated that Dez Bryant was guilty of a commission of a crime and was racially insensitive. The former wideout to get back at Portnoy brought up some dirt from his past. The CEO of Barstool was once accused of allegedly having filmed women and behaving aggressively with them. Bryant called him a “Weirdo perv” over this incident.

Bryant is supposedly alleging that networks such as ESPN use athletes, present and retired, to increase the viewership on their network and when things do not work in their favor or when the athlete begins to ask for more remuneration, the networks have enough influence to tarnish their reputation. “I’m on a mission to change all that and they know it bunch of …” Bryant tweeted.

While Dave Portnoy did not respond to Bryant’s open challenge, Stephen A. Smith did respond. He made it clear to Bryant that there was no ill will from his part towards him. He expressed his disappointment in the former wideout for his decision to tweet this out in the public domain. “For the record…I’ve never had a problem with Dez Bryant, not one time. I love the X,” Stephen A. Smith stated via his namesake show.

The challenge is out there for Stephen A. and Dave Portnoy to take. Will they step into the ring to take on Dez Bryant? Not unless either of them has had a past wherein they had experience in combat sports. Bryant has not played in the NFL since 2020 when he played for the Baltimore Ravens, it does unfortunately seem that his time as a professional NFL player has come to an end.

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