Rethinking Barstool?

gtg807y

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The clash of two titans who built their empires on the most absolute, lowest common denominator, clickbait trash content possible, designed to be circulated on facebook by the dull cousin you muted 10 years ago. The "Doctors Hate this One Weird Trick!" Bowl.
 

jsinger121

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Jul 25, 2005
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Making this out to be a bigger deal than normal. Barstool paid for the rights....JJ likes money in his pocket. Who cares.
 

thebtskink

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I'd take that more as trying (and failing) to control a PR response to something that's hit a nerve from multiple outlets.
 

Leather

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I'd take that more as trying (and failing) to control a PR response to something that's hit a nerve from multiple outlets.
Yes. Which raises the question: why do it in the first place?

My guess is that someone in the marketing/promos department should have known better and now their employer is in an unnecessarily uncomfortable spot. They can’t shit on a business partner but they can’t defend them, either. Hence the “no comment”.
 

Murby

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<raises hand> As a woman who is a Boston sports fan, I care. A lot.
Taking money from Barstool who routinely celebrates a certain type of culture was not necessary. They had others who would’ve paid. This is a bad look and a disappointment. That said, I am a man.

When there is a question about things like this, the lesson is clear if you are a man, stop and listen.
 

The Gray Eagle

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The Bruins are winless in the Stanley Cup Finals in games where they associate themselves with Barstool morons.
 

jsinger121

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Would the outrage be the same if the sponsor on the towels last night was Wynn Resorts? I think not.
 

southshoresoxfan

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Really? Be better.
No. The fake outrage around Barstool is obnoxious. If you’re not a fan of them fine, but they don’t mistreat women or anything of the sort. Go see Kayce Smiths opinion, who happens to work for them. Or the fact they have a female CEO.

Also if you’re letting who’s on a towel at a freaking hockey game bother you then your life is awesome and you are seeking out things to be mad about.

Toxic Masculinity? Get out of here.

Edit: Sorry, forgot this was the anti Barstool echo chamber.
 

Helmet Head

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With the exception of Pardon my Take,
Fore Play and some Spittin Chiclets I have limited exposure to Barstool. Can someone explain to me with specific examples why barstool sponsoring a rally towel for the Bruins is a big deal? I have not been exposed to the toxic masculinity and am genuinely curious to what they have done to create this narrative.
 

Patriot_Reign

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No. The fake outrage around Barstool is obnoxious. If you’re not a fan of them fine, but they don’t mistreat women or anything of the sort. Go see Kayce Smiths opinion, who happens to work for them. Or the fact they have a female CEO.

Also if you’re letting who’s on a towel at a freaking hockey game bother you then your life is awesome and you are seeking out things to be mad about.

Toxic Masculinity? Get out of here.

Edit: Sorry, forgot this was the anti Barstool echo chamber.
Agreed. Their CFO is female as well.
 

Boston Brawler

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No. The fake outrage around Barstool is obnoxious. If you’re not a fan of them fine, but they don’t mistreat women or anything of the sort. Go see Kayce Smiths opinion, who happens to work for them. Or the fact they have a female CEO.

Also if you’re letting who’s on a towel at a freaking hockey game bother you then your life is awesome and you are seeking out things to be mad about.

Toxic Masculinity? Get out of here.

Edit: Sorry, forgot this was the anti Barstool echo chamber.
I’m not upset that the Bruins chose them as their rally towel sponsor. I’m of the opinion that if you are a major organization or company, you need to be prepared to take responsibility for your actions. So the Bruins maybe shouldn’t alienate some of their fanbase by choosing a company with a questionable history, and personalities that elicit this type of response.

What I have a problem with is you just lazily dismissing someone the way you did. Not only is it shitty posting, it’s shitty human behavior.

And if you don’t think that there is a hint of toxic masculinity in some of Barstool’s content, you’re part of the problem. I’m in one of the most masculine professions on the planet surrounded by meat eaters all the time, it’s a thing. Is every incident necessary of the outrage it generates, of course not. But saying that it doesn’t exist is asinine.
 

southshoresoxfan

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With the exception of Pardon my Take,
Fore Play and some Spittin Chiclets I have limited exposure to Barstool. Can someone explain to me with specific examples why barstool sponsoring a rally towel for the Bruins is a big deal? I have not been exposed to the toxic masculinity and am genuinely curious to what they have done to create this narrative.
I’d love an answer on this as well.
 

Dotrat

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Agreed. Their CFO is female as well.
This is the new, "Some of my best friends are Jewish."
It doesn't matter that women in the C-Suite are happy to profit from the routine objectification of women--it's still wrong and still offensive. And accusations of virtue-signalling are paper-thin rationalizations for just not giving a shit about the problem.
 

Boston Brawler

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And just because they have female employees and female executives doesn’t mean they get a pass. Money is the root of all evil, after all.
 

Patriot_Reign

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Please provide examples of BS's toxic masculinity?

They also have the most popular female hosted podcast in the world, and the women involved have repeatedly said all this stuff is bullshit.

It only bugs me in that people can just shout out that BS is horrible to women yet can't provide examples of how.

They probably have the internet's most powerful troll army on their side, but I'm not sure how they're supposed to be expected to control that. Portnoy, among others at BS like PFT and Big Cat have gone out of their way to tell people not to be assholes and that they don't appreciate the trolls.
 

southshoresoxfan

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Just checked the app. Last 10 articles. In order...

Avengers
Baseball
Movie
Hockey
Football
Hockey
Basketball
Baseball
Baseball
Joey Diaz (comedian)

Not exactly a lot of “toxic masculinity” or whatever buzz word of the week you want to spew at me in there.

Get a life.
 

JCizzle

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And just because they have female employees and female executives doesn’t mean they get a pass. Money is the root of all evil, after all.
It also doesn't mean that their opinion should be dismissed. Their main Bruins writer is female for example. Her voice should be heard along with those who have a problem with their content, both provide valuable perspectives.
 

Myt1

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No. The fake outrage around Barstool is obnoxious. If you’re not a fan of them fine, but they don’t mistreat women or anything of the sort. Go see Kayce Smiths opinion, who happens to work for them. Or the fact they have a female CEO.
This is the dumbest part of your post, which is saying something.
 

JCizzle

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A pass for what? Still waiting on examples.
I'm a fan of some Barstool stuff, but it's disingenuous to pretend like they don't invite this perception. At least through their previous work. Just read any deadspin piece on Portnoy/Barstool for examples if you need them, they're out there.
 

TFP

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Do you have anything of substance to add to this discussion, or are you just going to contribute dumb one-liners the whole time?

Your posts are like a mad libs of all the shitty Barstool defenders/trolls.

What I have a problem with is you just lazily dismissing someone the way you did. Not only is it shitty posting, it’s shitty human behavior.
Take this to heart.
 

Boston Brawler

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It also doesn't mean that their opinion should be dismissed. Their main Bruins writer is female for example. Her voice should be heard along with those who have a problem with their content, both provide valuable perspectives.
I get that. It’s also incredibly hard to be a whistleblower or come out against your source of income. She and the other female employees may truly believe in their employer and believe this is all a bunch of crap. That’s fine. But, people can’t just scream “everything’s OK, you’re over reacting” to any criticism provided. Maybe their personal experience has been great, but there is evidence to the contrary for other people, especially ones that aren’t employed there.

As for evidence, this seems like a good place to start:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-barstool-sports-culture-of-online-hate-they-treat-sexual-harassment-and-cyberbullying-as-a-game

Edit: clarity
 
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Hoya81

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Boston Brawler

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By the way, I’m by no means a perfect person either. When I was younger I acted dumb, I probably posted questionable things on this forum or on Facebook or whatever. But I’ve learned through life experience that acting like that isn’t right. It’s never too late if you can critically think.
 

Myt1

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Lol. Man I love SoSH
Dude. You just used the, “My client can’t be a murderer. Look at all the people in the courtroom he hasn’t killed!” defense.

Organizations that are horrible to and about women often employ women, often in important and highly visible positions. They’re slightly more than half of the population, after all.

Exhibiting your ignorance of this somewhat basic reality, while telling a woman how she should feel about something because you think that your feelings about how she should feel are more valid than her own, is doubly stupid.

Maybe you’d like SoSH better if you weren’t such a fucking idiot.

FWIW, I’m only sort of vaguely familiar with Barstool as seeming to be run by middle-aged versions of the bros who need fake holiday excuses to wait in line to get into bars in Southie to day drink on Sundays. So you should take my post in the spirit it was meant: an indictment of you personally as a poster and your level of intelligence as exhibited in your posts, rather than a comment on that site.
 
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PC Drunken Friar

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A pass for what? Still waiting on examples.
There are dozens of examples in this thread.

Sam Ponder of ESPN did not like that ESPN was giving Barstool guys a show. Portnoy and Big Cat previously spoke about Ponder on a podcast...

https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/heres-audio-prompted-sam-ponder-call-new-barstool-coworkers.html
Portnoy: I know for a fact that every day at ESPN, all the suits and all the lawyers, they have their annual – not annual, daily – their daily 9:15 coffee meeting on how can we fire Sam Ponder without being sued for like discrimination. Because she is the worst.

No person watching GameDay wants to see a picture of her and her ugly kid. Nobody cares Sam Ponder. We want to see you sex it up and be slutty and not see some prude fucking jerk who everybody hates and who’s married to the worst quarterback who wears the ring and “God first” and this and that. Shut up. That’s not what you’re there for.
Portnoy:
And Sam Ponder, you fucking slut. I don’t want you at these games being super prude and talking about God and religion and how your kid is so awesome and breastfeeding when I’m watching GameDay. I don’t want that.
He then went on to make pictures of her with the clown nose and sold them. Told his million or so followers to not let this go. He also said that he "would slowly suffocate her online" by getting his minions to harass her.

He then went on to harass for months (and sicced his followers on her) a woman who reported this incident on Deadspin (Laura Wagner).

He has also repeatedly said
he “want to stick my tongue down [Wagner’s] throat,”
I'll let this one stand on its own..


He has repeatedly doxed female writers that report bad about him.

I don't even know what this means...

https://deadspin.com/barstool-sports-founder-tells-employee-shell-be-too-ugl-1827215385

Said this on the radio...

“She’s not going to be able to put her face in front of a camera in five years, because people will throw up,” he said.
And when she left the room in tears...

“Honestly, if you’re gonna cry, then walk your fucking ass out the door. I don’t give a fuck about that, and I’ll double down on that. You want to stare at me, Liz? I don’t give a fuck. That’s how we built this company. So you want guys and girls to be treated the same? They are.”
Ummmm...yea..


https://www.huffpost.com/entry/barstool-sports-rape-joke_n_1293328

Jokes about rape...

“[E]ven 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?”
Should I go on?
 
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cromulence

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Aug 25, 2009
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No. The fake outrage around Barstool is obnoxious. If you’re not a fan of them fine, but they don’t mistreat women or anything of the sort. Go see Kayce Smiths opinion, who happens to work for them. Or the fact they have a female CEO.

Also if you’re letting who’s on a towel at a freaking hockey game bother you then your life is awesome and you are seeking out things to be mad about.

Toxic Masculinity? Get out of here.

Edit: Sorry, forgot this was the anti Barstool echo chamber.
It's not even worth arguing with you point by point. You're a goddamn idiot.
 

mrsbeasley

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When women on Twitter know that if they mention Barstool in a tweet they need to edit out some of the letters (typing it "B**st**l" or some variation) because if they don't then Portnoy's minions will converge on them like locusts, well that isn't the women over-reacting, that's a fact of life in the land of the stoolies. And the fact that Barstool employees encourage and sometimes spearhead these attacks is all I need to know to despise the site and everyone associated with it. You can't work for the devil and then say "But I'm not in his department so I'm not like him."

And, please, get of my face with "but women work there, it can't be misogynistic" crap. That is demonstrable bull.
 

NickEsasky

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A pass for what? Still waiting on examples.
Hey, how about stopping for a second and trying a little empathy. A woman is telling you that she is bothered by it. Maybe you should pause and maybe honestly consider why instead of attacking her and offering poor examples like some women working at the company that are only relevant in the sense that they make you feel better. And this is coming from someone who consumes a good amount of Barstool content.
 

NickEsasky

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Dude. You just used the, “My client can’t be a murderer. Look at all the people in the courtroom he hasn’t killed!” defense.

Organizations that are horrible to and about women often employ women, often in important and highly visible positions. They’re slightly more than half of the population, after all.

Exhibiting your ignorance of this somewhat basic reality, while telling a woman how she should feel about something because you think that your feelings about how she should feel are more valid than her own, is doubly stupid.

Maybe you’d like SoSH better if you weren’t such a fucking idiot.

FWIW, I’m only sort of vaguely familiar with Barstool as seeming to be run by middle-aged versions of the bros who need fake holiday excuses to wait in line to get into bars in Southie to day drink on Sundays. So you should take my post in the spirit it was meant: an indictment of you personally as a poster and your level of intelligence as exhibited in your posts, rather than a comment on that site.
I agree with 99% of this, but sorry I refuse to sit here and allow you to badmouth daydrinking. I bid you good day, sir.

















I said good day.
 

Myt1

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I’m not badmouthing day-drinking.

I’m badmouthing needing an excuse to day-drink.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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When women on Twitter know that if they mention Barstool in a tweet they need to edit out some of the letters (typing it "B**st**l" or some variation) because if they don't then Portnoy's minions will converge on them like locusts, well that isn't the women over-reacting, that's a fact of life in the land of the stoolies. And the fact that Barstool employees encourage and sometimes spearhead these attacks is all I need to know to despise the site and everyone associated with it. You can't work for the devil and then say "But I'm not in his department so I'm not like him."

And, please, get of my face with "but women work there, it can't be misogynistic" crap. That is demonstrable bull.
And that direction, to harass and strike back at any criticism particularly at women, is direct from Portnoy, who drives everything about the company is is a shitty, shitty human being. What he did to Laura Wagner was fucking gross.

Portnoy is a shitbag and Barstool is his creation and reflects his values. Some of the content has moved away from that paradigm, but no one kid themselves.
 

kenneycb

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And that direction, to harass and strike back at any criticism particularly at women, is direct from Portnoy, who drives everything about the company is is a shitty, shitty human being. What he did to Laura Wagner was fucking gross.

Portnoy is a shitbag and Barstool is his creation and reflects his values. Some of the content has moved away from that paradigm, but no one kid themselves.
That is categorically untrue and is a giant disservice to everything the CEO has done over the last couple of years to grow the company and the brand.

Regardless, I am enjoying that the two month reset button has been hit on this thread so the same circular conversations can be had.