Being a superfan is not just about basking in recognition from a team or a league, and David Portnoy has lived the chaotic side of it. In May 2015, the day after the NFL handed Tom Brady a four-game suspension over Deflategate, Portnoy led a Barstool crew to NFL headquarters in New York to protest what he saw as a sham punishment. Wearing Brady jerseys and Patriots gear, they picketed outside with “Free Brady” signs, then marched into the Park Avenue lobby, staged a sit-in, and handcuffed themselves to a desk while demanding a meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell. Within about 15 minutes, NYPD officers arrived and arrested Portnoy and three Barstool employees, who would go on to be known in Patriots lore as the “Brady Four.”

Years later, Portnoy still refuses to soften his stance on that day. He insists he understood the case better than the man running the league and that his stunt was an act of loyalty rather than pure spectacle. “It started as an absolute joke, right? I was defending Tom Brady because Goodell had no proof — he changed the rules, he was out to get [Brady],” he said, framing his protest as a stand for both the quarterback and the franchise. Now, as the New England Patriots surge back under Mike Vrabel and controversy with Dianna Russini continues to swirl, the same die-hard fan is once again refusing to sit quietly.

“Let me say this loud and clear,” said Dave Portnoy on X. ” I will be monitoring all schedule releases and anybody who makes a joke about this disgusting controversy will be put on my list and face potential legal action. You’ve been warned.”

It began when Front Office Sports reported that the NFL will not be reviewing teams’ videos in advance of Thursday night’s release, effectively giving all 32 clubs free rein to take whatever shots they choose.

“Clubs will continue to control the content of their memes and videos from start to finish,” Front Office Sports’ Mike McCarthy wrote. “The young, aggressive, social media wags at all 32 clubs will be free to mock Vrabel and the Patriots if they wish.” And this did not sit well with the superfan.

Now, Dave Portnoy, the renowned businessman and owner of Barstool Sports, looks like he has personally appointed himself guardian of the New England Patriots vibe heading into the new season. Back in January, he watched them squeeze out a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, a result that locked in their spot in Super Bowl 2026 and clearly hit him right in the fan soul. That night in Denver had just the kind of chaos he lives for.

The Patriots erased a 7-0 first-quarter deficit, with Drake Maye punching in a rushing touchdown in the second quarter to flip the momentum. Later, Andy Borregales nailed a 23-yard field goal with 5:29 left in the third quarter to give New England the lead, and Portnoy raved about everything from Mike Vrabel “pushing all the right buttons” to the blocked fourth-quarter field goal that would have tied the game at 10.

“We’re going back to the Super Bowl where this team belongs,” Portnoy screams in a video posted on social media. “And it’s not lost on me that this dynasty started in a blizzard with the tuck rule. And it’s starting again right here in Denver in a blizzard with Adam Vinatieri up in the booth with Robin Kraft.”

Fast forward to last month, and the mood around the franchise shifted from pure football joy to off-field drama. The NFL has already stepped in to set some boundaries. The league stated that the Russini Vrabel situation does not fall under its Personal Conduct Policy, so it will not take any disciplinary action. Even so, with teams lining up their creative schedule release videos, it is easy to see how things could get spicy for New England, given their coach’s recent involvement in the headlines.

“The league is not reviewing videos in advance. Instead, clubs will continue to control the content of their memes and videos from start to finish,” read an article from Front Office Sports. “The young, aggressive, social media wags at all 32 clubs will be free to mock Vrabel and the Patriots if they wish.”

The controversy between the Pats coach Mike Vrabel and the seasoned journalist Dianna Russini has been running for over a month after Page Six released a series of their pictures in the first week of April. It led to the resignation of the 43-year-old at The Athletic, while Vrabel continues to coach Portnoy’s team. When the story first came to light, Portnoy immediately showed support for the Super Bowl runner-up coach. He previously praised the head coach on social media:

“LEADER OF MEN!” Portnoy wrote. “Let he who has not made a mistake or bad decision cast the 1st stone! We You can’t spell Vrabel without accountability! Proud to be a Patriot! An organization that does things the right way!”

His legal threat comes due to his support for the Patriots and coach Vrabel. He believes that the media has already milked the story for over a month, releasing multiple pictures from their past. Turning the personal struggle into a marketing stunt, things have been pushed way too far, affecting the family lives of both Vrabel and Russini for weeks.

While several teams could fire shots at the Pats, the Los Angeles Chargers may pose the threat, given their long history of doing it.

The Los Angeles Chargers could be the first in line to mock Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini

The New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers crossed paths in the Wild Card Round this January, where the former Vrabel’s side walked out with a dominant 16-3 win. They are set to have an AFC Wild Card rematch in Week 12 of the 2026 campaign. Hence, a revenge clip is certainly expected, and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Beer concurs.

“You see what the Chargers do every year, right?” Beer said on a recent edition of the Dan Patrick Show. “It’s like nothing is out of bounds with the Chargers, so my guess would be they will. And if they don’t, then it’s going to be a story that they didn’t.”The

The Chargers’ creative videos team is led by David Bretto, who has made this digital battle in the NFL exciting with innovative clips, taking shots at the rival teams. The team lit up the social media timeline in 2022 with amine-themed schedule videos, where their main target was the Cleveland Browns.

Moreover, the Patriots were targeted by the Chargers in 2024 through “The Sims” reality parody videos, where the Patriots were shown as a retirement home, with the senior citizens aimlessly wandering, wearing the franchise jersey. The roast was due to the team’s lack of young talent two years ago, which has significantly changed now.

The Chargers certainly have an opportunity to avenge the video from two seasons ago, but would Portnoy’s legal threat scare them? They have the nod from the NFL, which is the all-important one, and with that on their side, the Chargers really could do something creative, targeting the controversy.