'Entitled tramps with notions well above their station.' It’s an uncomfortable topic, yes, but one we should acknowledge and tackle rather than close our eyes and hope it goes away.Ī true Boston hero and famed elder of Red Sox Nation, pitcher Tim Wakefield passed away last week after a short illness. Dillon Danis, Logan Paul, and Nina Agdal. Rudy Giuliani and Michelle Wie West's skirt. Where does that vacuum leave us? Richard Keyes and Andy Grey. So, often the best thing to do is say nothing and hope nobody asks you. If you endorse it, you may be labeled a card-carrying exponent of toxic masculinity. If you challenge it, you’re just a woke penis-apologist. Barstool and Portnoy have long pitched themselves as the bros who will say things others don’t have the guts to. Sports media especially has become a battleground for that metamorphosis. But how do young men reconcile the 'respect me' messaging when our culture - sports in particular - flood them with images of testosterone-addled men and hypersexualised women? It's an oxymoron. Having had a solid definition of manhood for a millennium, we find ourselves at a critical tipping point where that is being questioned and redefined. It’s not a competition, but it is undoubtedly confusing to be a young man nowadays. Women in general today are making more money, are more educated, are apt to be more vocal about abuse/mistreatment, are much more self-reliant, and by and large, are tuned in to a sort of lightweight feminist consciousness that affirms all of the aforementioned lifestyle situations. A time when they were more likely to settle for any man rather than choose to be alone. They are in mourning for a time when women were quieter and much more likely to be silent about abuse. It is 'edgy' and 'subversive' in these circles to hate on women, especially successful ones like our footballers and Taylor Swift.ĭonald Trump's 'grab them by the p***y' warcry was a wolfwhistle to a growing cabal of disaffected men whose very notion of manhood is threatened by powerful people who happen to have breasts. Grown men, no longer hiding behind faceless profiles, so emboldened as to label the players tramps and whores and every other trope you can think of for having the temerity to challenge their coach.ĭoes it signify a re-normalisation of misogyny in sports, or does the Barstool example reaffirm the depressing notion that this misogyny was never tackled, but hiding in plain sight? What is new, with a heavy nod to Twitter and Barstool and Andrew Tate, is that this is no longer something discussed by men in secret over a pint, or in hushed whispers in WhatsApp groups with your friends. Just take a look at the social media comments that greeted the Irish women's football team following manager Vera Pauw's departure. Why, you might wonder, do we care over here what a puerile American sports podcast says about the world's biggest pop star? Well, because what’s true over there is sadly true here, or will be. It's worth noting that Pardon My Take averages between 750,000 and 1.5m listeners per episode. Katz later tweeted that his comments were “meant in jest”. After co-host Sollenburger randomly referenced Swift’s vagina, Katz opined that he could stomach Swift’s presence at NFL games only if she and Kelce were to “release a sex video”, going on to describe in disgustingly crude detail what the video must include for him to accept their rumoured relationship. Which brings us to Barstool and Swift (and trust me, we’re skipping a lot).

Earlier this year, Portnoy bought back the company. He later sued Insider, claiming its reporting was 'false and defamatory,' but the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed. Portnoy has denied the claims, insisting the article was a 'hit piece'.

Exploiting a niche in the frat-boy market, Portney grew the site, reaching peak notoriety when he handcuffed himself to NFL headquarters in protest at commissioner Roger Goddell's treatment of Tom Brady during the Deflategate scandal.Īfter selling Barstool to gambling site Penn in 2020 for a reported $355million, Portnoy was accused of sexual misconduct in a Business Insider expose, alleging that he had violent and aggressive sexual encounters with women, some of whom he filmed without their consent. Founded by Massachusetts native Dave Portnoy as a four-page newspaper in 2003, it morphed into an online blog, gaining popularity with fatuous features such as 'Local Smokeshow of the Day,' one-bite pizza reviews, and 'Guess That Ass’. First, it’s worth understanding what Barstool Sports is.

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