“Little Man Syndrome”: Dave Portnoy Hilariously Trolled for Standing on Toes Next to 6-Foot-6 Rob Gronkowski on Live TV

Dave Portnoy has always been an unapologetic personality on camera. So much so that “El Presidente” has come under intense fire in the past for attacking and trolling his critics. But this time, he’s being called out for something completely different: his height.

Height has been a major talking point surrounding Portnoy in recent months. And he only added to the controversy this morning, when he deliberately stood on his tiptoes while standing next to six-foot-six Rob Gronkowski on Big Noon Kickoff. A fan standing right next to him caught the act on video. 

Naturally, Portnoy had to endure some trolling from quite a few online users.

“Little man syndrome,” one wrote. “Lol Dave gets hella embarrassed about this when you call him out on this,” another chimed in.

pic.twitter.com/FXdDDTPrnI

— Semper (@Semper152892) November 1, 2025

However, there was one fan who thought it was just Portnoy helping out for the TV production. “Pretty normal for TV. It makes the shot a lot better…” they explained.

 

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A post shared by Big Noon Kickoff on FOX (@bnkonfox)

Whatever the case may be, it was a funny sight to take in. In reality, Portnoy is reportedly 5 feet 10 inches tall. Gronkowski, on the other hand, is 6 feet 6 inches tall. So, it was normal to see the former tight end tower over the Barstool Sports CEO.

That said, Portnoy has been making tiptoeing a bit of a habit lately. One social media influencer even called him out for it, noting several instances where he’s been caught standing on his tiptoes in photos with fans.

And although the CEO later claimed that the pictures were photoshopped, the post was flagged by Twitter’s Community Notes, clarifying that Portnoy was indeed standing on his toes and that the images weren’t edited. The influencer then suggested that Portnoy might actually be closer to 5-foot-5 than what’s been reported.

Of all the lies told about me this is the most egregious People are literally photoshopping me standing on my tippy toes now. pic.twitter.com/emPaADEix5

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 8, 2025

At the end of the day, height is an important feature for some men and their ego. And Portnoy may be trying to compensate for his by standing on his toes in photos. He’s made it a habit that everyone is starting to notice. If it embarrasses him so much to be called out on it, maybe he should just stop doing it. Yet, knowing his unapologetic personality, he probably won’t.