Barstool Sports is a satirical sports and men's lifestyle blog founded by Dave Portnoy in Milton, Massachusetts. The company is currently headquartered in NoMad, New York.
Video Barstool Sports
History
Barstool Sports first launched as a print publication in 2004. It was distributed in the Boston area, and offered gambling advertisements and fantasy sports predictions, but later expanded to encompass other topics. The company launched a website in 2007. In April 2014, AOL announced that they would be airing exclusive online content from Barstool.
On January 7, 2016, Portnoy announced The Chernin Group had purchased a majority stake (51%) of Barstool Sports, and the site would be moving its headquarters to New York City. Following the purchase, Portnoy continues to run the site and retain complete creative control over content. Mike Kerns, the Chernin Group's President of Digital, appeared on the inaugural episode of Portnoy's podcast, The Dave Portnoy Show, to discuss the acquisition. During the appearance, Kerns and Portnoy detailed the beginning of their talks, when Kerns was put in touch with Portnoy through former University of Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen, their mutual friend. Kerns took a private jet from San Francisco to Boston in order to discuss Barstool's future.
On July 19, 2016, Erika Nardini, former chief marketing officer of AOL, was announced as the new chief executive officer of Barstool.
On February 2, 2017, former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee announced that he was retiring from the NFL to become a contributor for Barstool.
On June 19, 2017, the site announced that actor Michael Rapaport would be joining Barstool Sports and hosting his own podcast.
On October 18, 2017, "Barstool Van Talk" debuted on ESPN2. The show starred Pardon My Take personalities PFT Commenter and Dan "Big Cat" Katz. The program was cancelled after just one episode, with ESPN president John Skipper citing concerns about distinguishing the content of Barstool from that of ESPN. The show's removal came in the wake of complaints from staff at the network, most notably Samantha Ponder.
Maps Barstool Sports
Criticism
In August 2011, Barstool received criticism over nude photos of American football quarterback Tom Brady's two-year-old son, which was accompanied by comments describing the size of the child's genitalia. A former prosecutor suggested that it was sexualization of a minor. Portnoy argued that the comments were meant to be humorous and were not intended as sexual.
Barstool has received repeated criticism over content posted on their website that some allege normalizes rape culture. Comments that have sparked debate include a post on a 2010 blog where Portnoy said, "Even though I never condone rape, if you're a size 6 and you're wearing skinny jeans, you kind of deserve to be raped, right?" Other elements that have received criticism include comments such as "We don't condone rape of any kind at our Blackout Parties...however, if a chick passes out, that's a gray area". In response, Portnoy stated that "...it's not our intent, with jokes, to poke fun at rape victims," while pointing out the satirical nature of the site's content.
A Northeastern University protest group called Knockout Barstool held a demonstration outside of a 2012 blackout party at Boston's House of Blues. Portnoy has been openly dismissive of the protest group and has accused them of being serial protesters.
The Blackout Tour parties have been criticized for promoting excessive drinking and allowing underage drinking, as well as for assaults that have occurred at the proceedings. On February 2012, then-Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino expressed concern through a spokesperson over the parties' promotion of "excessive drinking to the point of blacking out" and that such promotion would not be a good message for the city. In the following month, Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission agents and club security at a House of Blues event in Boston confiscated 300 fake identification cards and refused admission for around three-fourths of the event's two-thousand ticket holders. Shortly thereafter, Portnoy announced that the company would not be scheduling more of the events in Boston, stating that "it just doesn't seem like Boston is friendly to nightlife of our sort, at least".
Charity work
In 2015, following the 2014 killings of NYPD officers, Barstool's Kevin Clancy raised $104,000 to help the victims' families.
In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, Barstool Sports raised $250,000 for the victims of the attack.
In April 2017, listeners of the Barstool's podcast, Pardon My Take, raised over $60,000 for the Justin J. Watt Foundation.
References
External links
- Official website
- Official Twitter
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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