BARSTOOL Sports boss Dave Portnoy has been blasted for the company’s “history of unapologetic misogyny, racism, and xenophobia”. The allegations were made by TSN and NBC Hockey Commentator Gord Miller, who said he was OK to be dubbed as “woke” for ripping into the sports media brand. But Portney hit back at Miller saying it […]
BARSTOOL Sports boss Dave Portnoy has been blasted for the company’s “history of unapologetic misogyny, racism, and xenophobia”.
The allegations were made by TSN and NBC Hockey Commentator Gord Miller, who said he was OK to be dubbed as “woke” for ripping into the sports media brand.
But Portney hit back at Miller saying it was his dream to get a blue checkmark — someone verified by Twitter — in “the ring with me to talk about their accusations”.
The spate began during a Q&A session on the social media platform in which Miller was asked if he would ever consider appearing on the popular Barstool Sports podcast?
He replied: “I like those guys a lot, but anything to do with Barstool is a no-go for me.”
This was followed by strong reactions by social media users, which Miller followed up with his explanation.
My problem with Barstool is the history of unapologetic misogyny, racism, xenophobia and the repeated condoning of non-consensual sex
NBC Hockey Commentator Gord Miller
He said: “My comment today about not wanting to associate with Barstool Sports has prompted a lot of texts/emails/calls.
“The response has been incredibly positive, especially from female/BIPOC colleagues who have been afraid to speak out about their issues with Barstool (and sites like it).”
He then added: “My problem with Barstool is the history of unapologetic misogyny, racism, xenophobia and the repeated condoning of non-consensual sex.
“If not wanting to associate with that makes me part of ‘cancel culture’, or constitutes ‘virtue signalling’ or being ‘woke’, I’m OK with that.”
But Barstool boss Dave Portnoy hit back at the allegations with a forceful tweet, saying: “Nobody should ever be afraid to publicly speak their mind.
“But when you do I’d suggest doing actual research before slandering an entire company with blatant lies.
“Now comes the part where our fans become the bad guys because they defend us from being called Nazis.”
He added: “I know people say I should ignore guys like @GMillerTSN.
“But I’ll never be able to do that.
“Barstool is 20 years of my life’s work. I’m proud of it. I’m proud of our fans.
“He attacked everything I’m about. If you don’t fight back against that what do you fight back against?”
Portnoy then challenged Miller to a live conversation and to “go through every single accusation you made”.
He added: “This is my dream. To get a blue checkmark in the ring with me to talk about their accusations. @GMillerTSN let’s have a civil discussion. Let’s do it.”
Miller replied: “If @stoolpresidente wants to point out where I lied about incidents of misogyny, racism, xenophobia and condoning non-consensual sex at Barstool, I’ll be happy to retract what I said.
“However, I did do my research, and there is plenty of evidence to back me up in each case.”
The sparring session has yet to take place.
In July, the then-president Donald Trump granted Barstool Sports a long, wide-ranging interview, more typically seen with major national outlets.
Trump reminisced about life before launching his campaign in 2015.
“The best day in my life in terms of business and life and everything was the day before I announced I was running for president,” Trump said.
“Everything was good…Now I’m really glad I did but I was treated very unfairly.”
He added that he was “devastated” when he won because he “had a great life”,
Trump recalled a time soon after announcing his presidential bid when he was publicly booed, saying he had “never been booed before”.
