Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has rescinded his offer to send a customer on a tour of Auschwitz, a former Nazi concentration camp, after initially proposing the trip as a consequence for alleged antisemitic behavior at a Barstool-branded pub in Philadelphia.
Portnoy took to social media to explain the situation, stating that he initially offered two customers the opportunity to visit Auschwitz after they reportedly engaged in antisemitic actions at the Philadelphia establishment. He claimed that one customer, in an initial conversation on Sunday, accepted full responsibility for his and his friend’s behavior and agreed to the educational trip to Poland.
However, Portnoy later retracted the offer for at least one of the individuals, citing the customer’s subsequent denial of responsibility for the incident.
On Monday, Portnoy posted that the customer “did a 180” and told him he had nothing to do with the antisemitic behavior and that he was just being a citizen journalist by sharing video of what happened.
“His trip to Poland has been revoked,” Portnoy said in the post. “Whatever ramifications come his way he 100% earned.”
It wasn’t clear if the trip had been revoked for the other customer.
In a video posted on social media Saturday night, a woman at the bar who appears to be a server holds a sign with an anti-Jewish message on it while a man repeats the message multiple times.
The bar said in a statement posted to social media that several employees, against their training and organization’s written discrimination policies, complied with a customer’s request for the sign in connection with ordering bottle service.
“We are saddened, embarrassed, and frustrated by the deplorable actions of a customer and misguided staff,” Barstool Samson Street said in the post.
Portnoy said two bar employees had been fired over the incident.
Philadelphia police said they were investigating. No charges were immediately filed.
Temple University said one of the customers is believed to be one of their students. The student was put on interim suspension while an investigation continues, President John Fry said in a statement posted on the university’s website.
Fry called antisemitism “abhorrent” and said he would take further action if other students were involved.
“It has no place at Temple and acts of hatred and discrimination against any person or persons are not tolerated at this university,” Fry said.
Kappa Delta Rho said in a post on its website that it is also investigating because the customer involved was allegedly a member of their fraternity at Temple.
“To be clear, our organization firmly opposes all forms of hate, which have no place in our fraternity,” said Xavier Romano, executive director of the national fraternity.
Portnoy, who is Jewish, had said he hoped to turn the event into a teachable moment. He did not initially identify the culprits, but identified one of them on Monday when saying he would not be sending them to Auschwitz. The customer didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Portnoy said he has experienced increased antisemitism, as the war between Israel and Hamas continues.
He founded Barstool Sports in 2003, a digital platform covering sports, lifestyle and entertainment, in the Boston area. He also owns several Barstool bars in locations around the country.
