Dave Portnoy called for a USA Today columnist to be fired after she compared the controversy surrounding WNBA star Caitlin Clark to the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till, saying the writer belonged in an "insane asylum" over the column.

Speaking Friday on "Varney & Co.," the Barstool Sports founder sharply criticized columnist Nancy Armour, describing her connection between Indiana Fever star Clark and the murder of Till, a Black teenager, as the "craziest thing" he has encountered in more than two decades working in sports media.

"We've got to put her in a straightjacket. You've got to find the nearest institution. You've gotta put this author away and throw away the key," Portnoy said.

"Firing isn't really far enough. You gotta put her in an insane asylum. You gotta lock her up. And people who say, 'Hey, Dave, that's too far' — that's nothing compared to what she just wrote," he added later.

The dispute comes during a season in which Clark’s arrival has drawn unusually intense attention to the WNBA, expanding coverage of on-court incidents, officiating disputes and fan reaction beyond the league’s traditional audience. That heightened spotlight has also amplified arguments over how race, gender and celebrity are discussed in coverage of the league.

In her column, Armour wrote that some of Clark’s supporters have viewed the player’s disputes with referees as involving a White woman in need of protection and have then directed their anger toward other players on the court. Clark has been the subject of frequent discussion amid physical play during WNBA games.

Armour wrote that there is a "White nationalist element" to the dispute. She also wrote that "it shouldn’t need reminding this country has an awful history of Black people being harmed, even killed, in the name of ‘defending’ white women."

The columnist then noted that the WNBA All-Star Game was being held in Chicago, where Till lived. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old Black boy who was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after a White woman accused him of making advances toward her. His killing became a major catalyst for the modern civil rights movement and remains one of the most recognizable examples of racial terror in U.S. history.

"I've been doing Barstool 24 years. I'm 49 years old. That's the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life. The absolute craziest thing. To somehow equate the civil rights movement and Caitlin Clark arguing whether she got fouled or not," Portnoy said. "It is pure insanity."

Portnoy said Armour should be fired and extended that criticism to other editorial employees involved in publishing the column.

"I do think she should be fired. I think the editor who allowed this to be published should be fired," he said. Portnoy also argued that not every story should be framed around racial conflict.

"If you go looking for race under every single blank, every cover, you can make anything about race," Portnoy said.

Armour apologized for making the connection in her article in a statement posted Thursday on social media.

"In my recent column, I made an inartful comparison with the murder of Emmett Till. I intended to connect the issues the WNBA is currently facing with its All-Star Game being hosted in Till’s hometown of Chicago," she said, adding, "I obviously did not provide enough context for that."

Armour also said she stands by her broader assertion that perceived threats toward White women are weaponized against Black Americans. However, she said she sincerely regrets that her "lack of appropriate context is overshadowing that important conversation and the action that needs to be taken by the WNBA to address it directly — for the benefit of all players."