Dave Portnoy Quits The Dozen In Protest Over Blockbuster Trade

So Dave quit The Dozen.

Why? This trade.

Big move from Kirk and Smockin following an unreal error by Ben Mintz the other night...

An error SO BAD that he was traded on live TV.

Anyway, it was a big deal and caused a lot of buzz in the very-real-not-made-up trivia world. It's worth noting before I continue that not a single complaint was made by any of the top teams in the league. The Yak (Dan walked Mintz into Mostly Sports), Frankettes (Frank made it clear he'd be in Vegas), Experts (BRANDON WALKER didn't complain), Chicago, Booze Ponies, Uptown Balls, etc., I could name every team… not a single team objected to the trade. The team Kirk traded himself from? No complaints. Hank actually dug his heels in and challenged Kirk, saying he’ll kick his ass in the Tournament. Nobody on Ziti, Dave's teammates, said a word. Dave even acknowledged it and seemed largely unbothered midday in the office…

Then, for some reason, he just randomly decided he hated it late at night.

As you can see in the first tweet in this blog, I told him I thought the trade was fair, and I wouldn't be vetoing it. While Smockin is now elite, they have some holes, just like all the other teams at the top. Is it more competition for Ziti? Sure, of course. But I expected that to be taken on as a welcome challenge by last year's Captain of the Year, Dave Portnoy. I said as much in a statement…

Dave isn't budging. I am not budging. So, he's out.

We even have Will Compton of the Booze Ponies advocating for his team to take Ziti's spot at our live event during Super Bowl week in Las Vegas…

It's sold out, but the teams might be changing after this big news.

Please note that the Booze Ponies, instead of complaining or quitting, immediately challenged Smockin…

What will Dave do? It seems like he's going to start his own league.

It sure would suck to have my league, and this well-established content at the company destroyed. Would anyone jump ship? Not sure, but I won't be pressured because one (1) ((a singular human)) player out of a league of 50+ wants to pick up his ball, go home, and wave his LIV Tour money in my face. If he wants to take down The Dozen (I am fully aware Dave could fold the league by snapping his fingers), I guess I am going down with the ship. But league-wide, nobody is reacting the same way as Dave right now (who, mind you, captains the literal number-one ranked team in the league… I can't believe he doesn't just want to face them and beat them tomorrow), and I'd hope they'd stick with the tradition.

NOTE: Will Compton seemed upset at first but I am 99% sure he was under the impression Kirk has won every single The Dozen title until we informed him that isn't the case

Dave is fully aware of how grateful I am of his support of the show, and I have always treated Ziti fairly (EX: The Dozen Trivia Tournament I in 2021). Hopefully he changes his mind and comes back to compete. The door will always remain open, and outside of vetoing this fair trade, I am willing to negotiate his return. Tom Brady did after Deflategate, and Jim Harbaugh did as well after the Stallions allegations.

Both guys went out and won titles as a response.

Why not try and add your name to that list, Dave?

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BONUS NOTE: Many strays were caught in this dust up last night…

…mostly by Reags.