Dave Portnoy is siding with 9/11 families who do not want New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the 25th anniversary memorial ceremony.
The Barstool founder jumped into the fight Monday night as a petition topped 25,000 signatures from people supporting Mamdani’s exclusion from the ceremony honoring victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Portnoy used X to make the same case more aggressively, arguing that Mamdani’s past associations and endorsements explain why grieving families would not want him standing at the memorial.
The post began with one of the most inflammatory items attached to Mamdani’s record.
Hmm I wonder why the families of 9/11 don’t want Mandami at the 25th anniversary memorial ceremony. Could it be for any of the following reasons?
He campaigned with Hassan Piker who said US deserved 9/11
He endorsed Claire Valdez who also said America deserved 9/11
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 28, 2026
“He campaigned with Hassan Piker who said US deserved 9/11,” Portnoy wrote.
The Piker clip comes from a 2019 Twitch livestream, where he said, “America deserved 9/11, dude. Fck it, I’m saying it,” before adding, “We totally brought it upon ourselves … We did, we fcking did.”
Portnoy’s list moved beyond 9/11 to other examples critics have used against the democratic socialist mayor.
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One item involved Darializa Avila Chevalier, whom Mamdani endorsed.
Chevalier co-founded a Columbia University group whose mission statement included, “We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization.”
Another involved Mamdani’s 2013 post after the Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people and injured more than 250 on April 15, 2013.
Five days after the attack, Mamdani posted, “The implications of not mirandizing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.”
Portnoy, who built his name in sports before wading more heavily into politics in recent years, has criticized Mamdani since the mayoral campaign.
His Monday post ended with frustration over how Mamdani became mayor of the country’s most populated city despite his critics accusing him of repeatedly refusing to denounce anti-America rhetoric.
“How the hell did we get here in the 1st place?” Portnoy asked.
9/11 widower Giovanni Galante, who created the petition, told CBS New York the issue was not symbolic for the families pushing back.
“We felt that having Mamdani there would show a disrespect to our family members because of the people he supports,” Galante said.
The petition also zeroed in on Mahmood Mamdani, the mayor’s father, and his 2004 book, “Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror.”
“Mr. Mamdani’s own father, whom he has acknowledged as having shaped his views, penned a book shortly after 9/11 in which he argued that suicide bombers should be ‘understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism,’” Galante wrote.
“He also argued that there was a moral equivalence between the United States and al-Qaeda.”
Mahmood Mamdani also wrote that “we need to recognize the suicide bomber, first and foremost, as a category of soldier.”
The 9/11 memorial fight is not the only controversy around Mamdani’s public statements.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma took his own shot at Mamdani over a video targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the United Nations General Assembly.
Mamdani called for Netanyahu’s arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant if the Israeli leader visits New York City.
Kuzma responded by calling the mayor a “mayor playing president.”
This is 2026. People cosplaying as things they don’t have the authority, the talent, or the track record to actually be. Just for content.
A mayor playing president. A founder playing operator. A content creator playing one-on-one thinking he’s a pro. A 25yr old with a ring… https://t.co/e4aM17CzSC
— kuz (@kylekuzma) July 26, 2026
“This is 2026. People cosplaying as things they don’t have the authority, the talent, or the track record to actually be. Just for content,” Kuzma wrote while quote-tweeting Mamdani’s video.
Kuzma followed with a longer swipe at what he saw as performance politics.
“A mayor playing president. A founder playing operator. A content creator playing one-on-one, thinking he’s a pro,” he accused. “A 25-year-old with a ring light playing economist. Everyone auditioning. Nobody building.”
“We’re raising a generation that is learning the reward isn’t in doing the thing; it’s in looking like you did the thing,” he added.
“The clip is the career. The pose is the product. The soundbite is the substitute for a life’s work. Don’t fall for distractions.”
Mamdani’s Instagram post also drew support from NBA stars. Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving and San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama liked the post, while Philadelphia 76ers guard Jalen Brown reposted it.
In the video, Mamdani accused Netanyahu of genocide against Palestinians and demanded that the federal government execute the ICC arrest warrant if Netanyahu enters New York City.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people,” Mamdani declared.
Jaylen Brown reposted Mayor Mamdani’s video on his IG story.
Jaylen Brown has always shown his support for the people of Palestine/Gaza.
They can never make me hate you akhi, @FCHWPO 🫡❤️🇵🇸 https://t.co/8yCzoKQhzH pic.twitter.com/o0RphfnLLU
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) July 25, 2026
Mamdani accused Netanyahu of responsibility for more than 73,000 deaths, tens of thousands of maimed children, attacks on neonatal hospitals and maternity care centers, blocked humanitarian aid, the gunning down of aid workers and journalists, and the deliberate targeting of Palestinian children. He also argued that American taxpayers are still funding the war.
“There is a reason the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest,” Mamdani said.
“As I’ve said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as I do for anyone else charged by the ICC,” he added.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” Mamdani stated.
Mamdani accused Netanyahu of responsibility for more than 73,000 deaths, tens of thousands of maimed children, attacks on neonatal hospitals and maternity care centers, blocked humanitarian aid, the gunning down of aid workers and journalists, and the deliberate targeting of Palestinian children. He also argued that American taxpayers are still funding the war.
“There is a reason the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest,” Mamdani said.
“As I’ve said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as I do for anyone else charged by the ICC.”
The address did not mention Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel.
Jewish organizations and political opponents have criticized Mamdani over his rhetoric on Israel. Israel rejects the ICC’s jurisdiction, and Netanyahu has repeatedly denied the court’s allegations.
Mamdani previously asked the city’s legal department to review whether New York police could enforce the warrant, though he later acknowledged the city has no legal authority to arrest visiting foreign leaders.