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.”