UPDATE (6:25 p.m.): Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy spent much of the day Monday addressing the fallout of a video that showed an antisemitic message displayed on a sign at his Philadelphia bar on Saturday night.
In multiple videos posted on X, formerly Twitter, Portnoy discussed his media company's response to the incident that resulted in the suspension of a Temple University student. Portnoy said the student was a customer at the Center City bar on Saturday night and had requested that staff put the hateful message on an illuminated sign used for patrons who order bottle service.
Earlier Monday, Portnoy said he had offered to send the student and another person involved in the incident to Auschwitz to tour the former Nazi concentration camp where Jewish people and others were systematically killed during the Holocaust. Portnoy said both people had accepted the offer.
But on Monday afternoon, Portnoy posted a new video saying the suspended Temple student now denies responsibility for the antisemitic message and has backed out of the Auschwitz trip because his name became public. Portnoy claimed the student's name only got out because the student had shared the initial video of the sign on Instagram before it went viral on Sunday. Temple has not identified the student.
"He's like, 'Well, I had nothing to do with it. I felt pressured into admitting I had anything to do with it,'" Portnoy said the student told him during a follow-up phone call on Monday. "Buddy, what are you doing? I'm like, trying to make this a teachable moment (and) throw a lifeline to a kid."
Portnoy said the student claimed he was acting as a "citizen journalist" when he posted video of the sign at the bar on Saturday night. As a result of the change in the student's story, Portnoy said he has revoked his offer to send the student to Auschwitz.
Earlier Monday, Portnoy posted another video on X lashing out at 6ABC over a tense interview with a reporter this morning. Portnoy said the reporter had questioned whether Barstool Sports' culture contributed to an atmosphere where guests and staff at the bar were emboldened to spread hateful messages like the one in Philadelphia on Saturday night. Portnoy abruptly ended the interview and disparaged 6ABC in his video on X.
See the original story below.
A Temple University student has been suspended for an antisemitic sign that was displayed Saturday night at Barstool Sansom Street, a sports bar in Center City.
The student, who was not identified by Temple, was among a group of people at the bar, at 1213 Sansom St., who ordered bottle service, which includes getting to put a message on an illuminated sign at their table. The student requested the antisemitic message and staff at the bar obliged.
Temple President John Fry said the college learned about the sign Sunday afternoon. Social media videos show the antisemitic message on display.
"In the strongest terms possible, let me be clear: antisemitism is abhorrent," Fry said on Sunday. "It has no place at Temple and acts of hatred and discrimination against any person or persons are not tolerated at this university."
Temple's division of student affairs is investigating the incident, and the university said any other students found to be involved will face disciplinary action.
Philadelphia police said Monday that they are investigating what happened at Barstool Sansom Street.
On Sunday afternoon, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy posted a pair videos on X, formerly Twitter. He said his staff had reviewed security footage from the bar, and two servers were fired for their roles in displaying the antisemitic message. Portnoy called the people involved in the incident "morons" for putting the hateful message on the sign.
Portnoy, who is Jewish, offered to pay to send the people involved to tour Auschwitz, the notorious concentration camp in the portion of Poland annexed by Germany during World War II where Nazi's killed at least 1.1 million people, of which about 1 million were Jewish. During the Holocaust, between 1933-1945, the Nazis killed 6 million Jewish people.
Portnoy said the trip would be a "fair outcome" and "a teaching moment."
"Let's try to turn … a hideous incident into maybe a learning experience," Portnoy said. "… They've agreed to go."
"Everyone who wants these kids' lives to be ruined, I think you can lay off," he said.
Barstool Sports opened its Philadelphia bar in 2022. The media company also has locations in Chicago and Scottsdale. In a statement on Instagram, the bar said it is "saddened, embarrassed and frustrated" by what happened Saturday night.
Employees ignored training and written policies regarding the company's "zero tolerance policy for discrimination and hate" when they agreed to display the antisemtic message requested by a customer.
"We deeply apologize for the role we played in allowing hate speech to transpire, as we consistently strive to create a welcoming and accepting atmosphere for all groups," Barstool's statement said.
The Philadelphia chapter of the Anti-Defamation League said Sunday it reached out to Barstool Sports management and Philadelphia police about the incident Saturday night.
"Antisemitic slurs and statements have no place in our city," the organization said.
