The anti-LGBTQ+, anti-woke movement has taken shots at another sports-related company.
Barstool Sports, the digital media company known for its fraternity-like antics, is on the receiving end of a backlash for releasing merchandise on June 1 to celebrate Pride Month.
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Barstool Sports is one of the most popular sports media brands in the country, with nearly 50 million followers on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, just for its main accounts. Its podcasts like “Pardon My Take” are also consistently at the top of sports podcasts charts.
The company has a more conservative, fraternity-like following as seen through its founder, Dave Portnoy, who has faced multiple sexual allegations in the past couple of years.
That hasn’t stopped conservatives from attacking the brand for its Pride merchandise despite many companies, including Barstool, already participating in Pride events prior to this year.
Many of the Twitter replies say they are “unfollowing” or are “out” of Barstool due to their Pride merchandise.
Barstool Sports’ Francis Ellis released a post on the company’s website shooting back at the detractors on Friday, June 2.
“You'll notice that effectively none of these comments comes from a real account. They're all anonymous, hidden, dare I say … closeted,” Ellis said. He then proceeded to joke about some of those who weren’t anonymous and were still taking shots at the Pride movement, calling them “fallen heroes” because they will apparently no longer be following Barstool.
While the anti-LGBTQ+ movement is not new, there has been a much louder group speaking out given the Bud Light received following its decision to partner with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April. This has trickled into attacks for several major brands such as Target, Kohl’s, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
