Last Updated on June 27, 2022
Since the landmark Dobbs decision was handed down, many public figures crawled out of the woodwork to give their takes on why the decision was the wrong one. Some notable examples came from Dave Portnoy and Kevin Clancy of Barstool Sports.
Barstool Sports (Barstool), the wildly popular sports and culture site which contains a network of podcasts, shows, and blogs has marketed itself toward the “common man.”
When outlets like ESPN and Sports Illustrated began to publish openly left-wing opinions and topics that alienated the average sports fan, Barstool provided an alternative.
Because of this, Barstool was often the object of derision from the far left. The Daily Beast has referred to Barstool’s brand as “white male grievance culture”, calling Portnoy, the founder and president of Barstool, a “misogynistic troll-king”. The article also focuses on allegations of sexual harassment made by several female writers at the site toward several male colleagues, suggesting that the brand promotes a culture of misogyny.
Some on the political right even coined the term “Barstool Conservatism“, referring to the culture promoted by Barstool. The idea is that the culture war would be fought on a different front than it had been in the 80s and 90s, but on “vague concerns about political correctness and “SJWs,” opposition to the popularization of so-called critical race theory, sentimentality about the American flag and the military, the rights of male undergraduates to engage in fornication while intoxicated without fear of the Title IX mafia.”
Oddly enough, Barstool and The Daily Beast seem to have the same opinion on the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Emergency Press Conference – We Are Going Backwards (avoid if you don’t wanna hear me talking politics) pic.twitter.com/mDTmuQahcc
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 24, 2022
While Barstool’s most forward-facing personalities lamented the Dobbs decision, this is not the first time that they have at least paid lip service to woke causes. In a recent video, Barstool’s Kevin Clancy discussed the recent winner of Maxim’s ‘Sexiest Woman Alive’, golfer and model Paige Spiranac (also affiliated with Barstool).
Paige Spiranac was named Maxim Magazine’s 2022 Sexiest Woman of the Year@KFCBarstool @KFCRadio pic.twitter.com/Obh1On29ls
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 17, 2022
Clancy echoed many of Barstool’s center to center-right fans by mentioning that “sometimes it’s nice to have a good old throwback definition of sexy”. However, Clancy went on to qualify his statement by adding that “trans women are beautiful”. It seems as if “Barstool conservatism” longs for the days where political correctness wasn’t so rampant, but is always compromising with the same people who seek to damage their reputations.
