A few days ago, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy adamantly defended the company, refusing to apologize for past remarks, declaring that the idea of Barstool being cancelled was absurd, and not possible. The comments pumped up the brand’s base, and stoked the flames of Barstool’s critics.
But today, Portnoy’s company released a podcast episode with an offensive title, and it’s forced even the most passionate defenders of Barstool to have to do a double take and shake their head over the brand’s decision.
The “2Biggs” podcast with Willie Colon and Brandon Newman, who’s self described as “the ‘BET’ of Barstool Sports, dropped an episode titled “Barstool N.I.G.G.E.R. (Now It’s Gonna Get Extremely Real)” which includes appearances by Trill Withers, Zah, Ebony, Liz Gonzales, and the 20 Dollar Chef, all weighing in on El Presidente’s use of the N-word, his prior remarks about Colin Kaepernick and his protest in 2016, as well as a discussion between Colon and Portnoy.
The title of the podcast has drawn an avalanche of criticism on social media. Even PFT Commenter wrote a blog acknowledging that the company placed its black employees in a bad position.
Colon though took to Twitter to defend the title, and explain why it was used to promote the episode. Gonzales and Withers also addressed the situation and their lack of knowledge on what the podcast would be titled.
Though companies are well aware of what they’re signing up for when they enter into business with Barstool, situations can escalate and force clients to reconsider their partnerships. The USA Today has already called for NASCAR to end its association with Portnoy’s comany, and with Penn National being heavily invested in Barstool’s future, they’re surely not going to be pleased having to defend the brand’s use of prior racist remarks or its decision to promote a podcast using offensive language.
