As ESPN announced its new partnership with Penn Entertainment to launch a branded sports betting platform, Barstool Sports is now out of that space. Barstool founder Dave Portnoy announced Tuesday he has bought back the media outlet outright. One of Portnoy’s first moves as the sole owner of Barstool was to rehire former employee Ben Mintz a.k.a. “Mintzy.”
Mintzy was fired by Barstool in May after using the n-word during a live stream.
Portnoy hired Mintz after his Barstool exit to work for his watch company Brick Watch Co.. On Tuesday, he called Mintz to share the news that he’d like Mintz to rejoin the company.
“You’re coming back, right?” Portnoy asked
“F—king A I’m coming back!” Mintz exclaimed. “Like that’s even a question!”
“I can’t even tell you how happy I am right now, and I just appreciate you giving me this opportunity,” he added.
Portnoy in his announcement talked about how hard it was for Barstool to operate as a media entity in a heavily-regulated space like sports betting. He said now that Barstool and Penn have gone their separate ways, Barstool doesn’t have to worry about being on a short leash.
