A Barstool intern named “Cervix Killer” forwarded multiple sexual texts to a female colleague.Barstool releasing a video in which Portnoy repeatedly sang the N-word.Clauses in a contract offered to a prospective female hire potentially prohibiting her from reporting any instances of racial epithets, nudity, profanity, and more.In August 2019, Portnoy made explicit threats on Twitter to fire anyone that would think about unionizing at Barstool (which is highly illegal).In December 2018, Barstool stole a comedian’s original content and refused to credit her appropriately.To name all of its controversies would probably go beyond the scope of this article, so let’s just name a few: Yet, the company continued to remain in the center of attention. Under her leadership, Barstool introduced a variety of different products, such as Barstool Gold or pay-per-view boxing events. Nardini possessed decades of experience in the world of media and technology, holding managerial positions at Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, and many more. A few months later, in July 2016, Barstool hired Erika Nardini to be the firm’s new CEO. While Chernin became a majority shareholder, the agreement also stated that Portnoy and Barstool would retain their editorial independence. In January 2016, Barstool announced that the Chernin Group acquired a majority stake in the company. Nevertheless, to take that next step and enter the mainstream zeitgeist, Portnoy and his team needed to have some media experience and structure. ‘Pardon My Take’, a comedic sports podcast, is now one of the most popular shows in the United States. Portnoy would simply scout for regular people with extraordinary talent and train them to become podcast hosts. After figuring out social, Barstool was one of the first media companies that embraced podcasting. Portnoy was engaged in a variety of conflicts, including posting a naked picture of Tom Brady’s son or normalizing rape culture.Īdmittedly, Portnoy and his team were often early adopters of relevant media trends. Much of the early 2010s were spent doubling down on the brand’s winning formula. Portnoy used those to his advantage, oftentimes posting controversial statements on his various social media handles (Twitter, in particular, became a popular avenue of his). Around that time, Barstool began expanding into other major cities like Chicago or Philadelphia.Īnother major accelerant became the widespread adoption of social media platforms. In 2007, a fan from New York asked Portnoy to redesign the website and thus make it accessible to the wider public. Over time, Portnoy and his editorial staff added other topics, such as commentary on men-related topics or a selection of barely dressed women. Soon after, the website was launched in December 2003. Portnoy would hand it out in person outside of subway stations in Boston. In the early days, Barstool Sports was only available via its newspaper publications. Barstool’s first issue was published in August 2003. His grandiose idea: to launch a local newspaper covering anything and everything about the world of betting. What Portnoy quickly noticed was that there were only a few publications covering betting-related topics. In fact, he became so consumed that he even flew to Vegas to get a marketing job at an offshore casino (they immediately denied him). He experimented with a variety of ideas, such as a scouting platform for underreported athletes seeking college scholarships.Īround the same time, Portnoy picked up gambling as a hobby. Post-college, Portnoy, who spent his childhood years in Massachusetts, moved back to Boston to work as a sales rep for a local IT company.īut soon after, his itch for launching a business took over. While he wanted to attend college to study business, he ultimately fell wasn’t accepted due to missing foreign language credits. He played both baseball and football in high school, but a shoulder injury eventually cut his dreams of Division III baseball short.Īfter graduating from high school, Portnoy went on to pursue a degree in education at Michigan University. Growing up, Portnoy always had a knack for sports. Barstool Sports, headquartered in New York City, was founded in 2003 by Dave Portnoy.
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