A sign that read “Fuck the Jews,” Barstool Sports founder and owner Dave Portnoy threatening to “ruin” people, trips to Auschwitz and a purported “culture of harassment” at Barstool Sports. These are all the factors at play in a highly publicized antisemitic incident that took place over the weekend at a bar in Philadelphia. But how do all these pieces fit together? Let’s dive in.
Wait, so what happened?
On Saturday May 3, a sign reading “Fuck the Jews” was held up by an unnamed waitress at Barstool Sansom Street in Philadelphia. She did so after a table at the bar ordered bottle service, which entitled them to order a sign with a custom message on it, which she would then hold near their table. The patrons requested “Fuck the Jews.”
The incident, in which bystanders mostly just gawked at or took photos of the sign, was caught on video and shared first on Instagram. The next day, Jewish internet personality Eyal Yakoby shared a screen recording of that video on X. Yakoby’s post condemning the sign quickly went viral, catching the attention of Dave Portnoy.
I know the answer to this one, but I’m going to ask it anyway: “Fuck the Jews” is antisemitic, right?
Yes, me who is using this investigative structure to be as explicit as possible. “Fuck the Jews” is antisemitic.
Thank you for confirming. And who is Dave Portnoy?
Dave Portnoy is the 48-year-old founder and owner of Barstool Sports, a digital media company with podcasts, live shows, video series and more focused on sports and pop culture through an undeniably male gaze. Through Barstool Sports, Portnoy also happens to own Barstool Sansom Street. He is Jewish.
Portnoy and his company are also quite controversial. Barstool Sports has been referred to as “The Bible of Bro Culture.” “Rude, crude, sexist and often mean-spirited — even Howard Stern has complaints — the site has become a go-to for young men who say they are disenfranchised by the mainstream media,” NBC reported in 2013. It’s this ethos and fanbase that caused students at Northeastern University to accuse Barstool Sports, according to New York Magazine, of “perpetuating rape culture and embracing misogyny.”
Over the last nearly 15 years, Portnoy has come under fire for a litany of offensive remarks and accusations against him. “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?” Portnoy wrote in a blog in 2010. He’s called female sports journalists Sam Ponder “a slut” and Sarah Spain “a fucking cunt.” He’s supported Donald Trump, writing ahead of his first presidential campaign, “I don’t care if he’s a joke. I don’t care if he’s racist. I don’t care if he’s sexist. I don’t care about any of it. I hope he stays in the race and I hope he wins. Why? Because I love the fact that he is making other politicians squirm.”
In 2016, he compared Colin Kaepernick, an American civil rights activist and former professional football quarterback who is known for taking a knee and refusing to stand during the national anthem during NFL games to protest police brutality and racial injustice against Black people in the United States, to a terrorist and Osama bin Laden and in 2020 he was criticized for previously using the n-word. In response to the latter offense, Portnoy said that he was “uncancellable.” In 2021, Business Insider published a report in which three women accused Portnoy of sexual assault, and in 2022 three more women came forward about Portnoy filming them during sex without their consent.
Dave Portnoy has denied these accusations of sexual misconduct and has often defended his statements as comedy.
Does Portnoy’s behavior justify antisemitism?
No. There is no justification for antisemitism or any form of discrimination or hate speech.
So what was Dave Portnoy’s response?
On Sunday, the day after the incident at Barstool Sansom Street, Portnoy posted an “emergency press conference” to his social media. “I’ve been shaking, I’ve been so fucking mad,” he said. “I was so over the top. I was like, I’m going to make it my life fucking mission to ruin these people. Like, I’m coming for your throat, I’m never ending.”
He went on to share that he had been investigating the situation himself, “hunting down” the customers who ordered the bottle service. According to Portnoy, he learned that two Temple University students were the ones who ordered the sign. Apparently, neither one of them is the person tagged in the video. But, Portnoy says he spoke to one of them on the phone and told him “make it right.”
Portnoy also shared that the two waitresses involved were fired, calling them dumb and at least one of them an “idiot.”
You can watch the full video here:
Later on Sunday, Portnoy shared a follow-up video on social media in which he was visibly more calm. He shared that he had decided to make this “a teaching moment” for the Barstool Sansom Street patrons involved. “We’re going to send these kids to Auschwitz and they’re going to do a tour of the concentration camps in Germany, and hopefully learn something and hopefully they think twice, and more importantly other people see it’s not like words you’re throwing around. To me that’s a fair outcome of this event,” Portnoy said, sharing that he had also been in contact with Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. (To note: Auschwitz is located in Poland, not Germany.)
Meanwhile, the waitresses involved will not be going on a Holocaust tour and are still fired.
OK. So did the bar release a response too?
Yes. Barstool Sansom Street posted an official statement about the situation on their Instagram page on Sunday afternoon. The statement read in part: “We take all forms of discrimination incredibly seriously and are particularly upset by the actions taken against our Jewish patrons, colleagues, partners and friends.”
You can read the full message here:
What was Temple University’s response?
On Sunday, Temple University President John Fry shared a statement entitled “Antisemitic Incident Last Night.” In it, he confirmed that at least one Temple student was involved in the incident and that person has been placed on interim suspension. He also said that Temple’s Division of Student Affairs was investigating the incident.
“In the strongest terms possible, let me be clear: Antisemitism is abhorrent. It has no place at Temple and acts of hatred and discrimination against any person or persons are not tolerated at this university,” he wrote.
Any other responses worth mentioning?
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia told 6abc Action News, “There’s no place for this kind of speech.” According to 6abc, the Philadelphia Police and the ADL are now also investigating the matter.
Is that all?
No. On Monday morning, Portnoy shared another video on his social media after a contentious interview with Philadelphia’s local 6abc Action News. Portnoy claims that after 6abc begged him to do an interview with them, the reporter pulled “a quote out of her ass” from “a made up journal” saying that “Barstool Sports creates a culture of harassment.” It seems like the reporter was implying that Portnoy’s own behaviors and actions played a factor in this happening in his bar.
Is there any veracity to idea that Barstool Sports and/or Dave Portnoy’s own behavior played a role in this happening?
Look, here’s what I’ll say. Could antisemitism happen at any bar in America? Yes. Does it feel more likely to happen at a bar owned by someone who clearly does not have a problem making offensive, and what some might call discriminatory, remarks about people in other marginalized communities? I’ll let you answer that one for yourself.
