I can’t stand Portnoy just from his pizza takes, don’t listen to any Barstool podcasts but PFT is an A+ twitter follow come NFL season. That bit on Kaep was super grimey and gross but not sure I can just ignore the comedy gold of PFT doing Ben Shapiro. So what I’m saying is I don’t really know what to do with my hands right now
Yes, Amazon is a bad company who is awful to their employees and contractors. I’m not aware of Bezos having a history of racist and sexist comments and not apologizing, but I bet a lot of people would be upset with them and they’d lose business if it happened.
I can see that argument, because he is such a part of the forward-facing part of the “brand.” But, there’s a lot of content, and content creators, who are very much not him. The climate has obviously changed, but barstool at first for many was an escape from the cube — light, dumb, irreverent, time-passing entertainment. That kind of apathy doesn’t really fly now, and other parts of their roster haVe figured that out pretty well. Still, the overwhelming consensus seems to be that their “secret sauce” is their clash with political correctness. I think that’s an easy explanation for something that’s a little more complicated.
I’d be more inclined to believe that if anybody at the company came out and said that Portnoy’s comments were racist or wrong.
Several have. You’d just have to listen to barstool radio or read the blogs to find out, and therein lies the problem.
I'm godfathered in to liking Pft because i was a fan pre-barstool. I don't have podcast time to listen to PMT though. its always weird when a media company builds its fan base doing X then except one enormous grotesque exception has largely moved on from what that initial growth was built on this goes for lots of things and with the topic of twitch streamers being recent on the board, it happened a lot there too
the thing is, they occupy a space below espn/disney that's super valuable and in theory i would much prefer that type of sports coverage compared to the bullshit on daytime espn and whatever sportscenter has turned into. but i wish it wasn't barstool.
Ha! I won’t make you do that. I agree that there’s not enough being done to hold him accountable. It was mostly mea culpa from the other two in the clips (Big Cat and Kevin Clancy).
i agree there's a balance between the complete anodyne bullshit espn puts out and the worst parts of barstool
The idea of Deadspin and their execution for various periods was excellent, but they suffered through some horrific leadership as well. Legitimate sports journalism and humor that isn't tainted by the need to maintain access to athletes/leagues is an important niche. I can't think of anybody who fills that niche right now.
When it comes to Amazon the human rights abuses are a byproduct of the economic system and when it comes to Barstool the hot takes/racism is (part of) the product itself. HTH
Why defend the behavior? Verbal defense is no different from making a purchase? Only one "side" of this false equivalency is engaging in defense strategies.
Im not defending the behavior. My comment got put here from a different thread. My point is that people compartmentalize stuff everyday and people can do that with PMT and Dave.
I think it makes more sense to admit that Dave is expendable and that would likely make everything better. I feel you on the different threading. That happened to me earlier today.
I’ve always compartmentalized pftcommenter because I’ve followed him forever but I think I’ll just disassociate from the whole lot. It won’t hurt anything.
I think Barstool as a whole has made some pretty big strides from where they were when they started. Pretty much the only content I consume is Twitter/Instagram accounts and I listen to PMT. As a company they have grown past the misogynistic / chud rhetoric of a decade ago from What I consume in pretty much every personality, aside from Portnoy. Coming from a site like TMB that has progressed from a decade ago I don’t know why other people and/or companies can’t also grow over the same time period
Show me where Dave Portnoy has grown, or where anybody at Barstool has attempted to change Dave Portnoy, who is the founder and editor-in-chief of the company.
The problem is that the founder, who is the face of the company, is proudly and defiantly not growing/learning/changing.
I would say his rhetoric has also changed a bit but I see your point. I follow him on twitter so see the videos and stuff but I don’t consume any other content he’s in. Yeah, don’t really have an answer or spin for that.
His response to being called out was literally that he/Barstool has not changed and will not change. I agree with you that there’s a lot of the company that isn’t him, but he’s really leaning into the unapologetic, “it’s a comedy site” defense, which isn’t a good one. It’s a problem when the only entities coming to your defense are Tucker Carlson and the Federalist.
lot of takes to be had about Dave Portnoy in 2020 "He has shown a lot of growth, made big strides" was not one I expected to see
And you didn’t actually see it, either. edit: should clarify I assumed this quote was in reference to my posts (which wasn’t actually a quote of mine)
comparing barstool to tmb is dumb in part because Portnoy would have been banned here so we have higher standards i guess
No. He has a podcast called 2Biggs. That’s the title of the episode thereof. It’s he, Brandon Newman, Trill Withers, and several other minority content people reacting to Dave being a shithead.
I’m about 30 minutes in. Willie followed Portnoy’s “After 9/11” comment by saying “I’m from New York. I grew up with muslims. I’m a 6’3” black guy with dreads. With a hoodie on I’m getting judged the same way.” Aside from Willie and Trill, the tone is “I know Dave, but it’s hard to defend.”
Willie: “I know we’re saying Dave’s not a racist but [his asking if he should quote it, being told no, and doing it anyway] is the genesis of it. It’s the privilege. Nobody was going to check Dave. ... It’s a power dynamic. I can only get away with so much because I’m an employee. Dave can get away with everything because he’s the founder and he built barstool. And as we unraveled it and continued to push through it — that sucks.”
I wasn't summarizing the podcast; I was giving an honest and accurate analysis of Dave Portnoy and Barstool.