Twitter restored the account of Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy on Friday evening after the far-left social media platform faced instant widespread backlash for banning him.
“Portnoy’s handle @stoolpresidente, which had 2.5 million Twitter followers, was shut down with an ‘Account suspended’ message,” Fox News reported. “#FreeDavePortnoy began dominating social media as it was unclear what led to his suspension.”
Portnoy told the network immediately following the ban, “The will of the people will be heard. #freeportnoy.” Portnoy said he did not know why he had been banned.
Portnoy posted the following message on Twitter after the company restored his account:
I’m back. #freeportnoy pic.twitter.com/EeY0hnelrO
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 19, 2021
Twitter users had speculated that Portnoy might have been suspended because he tweeted about dropping his “nuts” on someone’s “head,” but the tweet remained on his account after the account was restored.
Portnoy spoke with The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro in April on a wide range of issues during an episode of “The Ben Shapiro Show: Sunday Special.”
The Daily Wire reported at the time:
From disputes with AOC to defending his company from online attacks, Portnoy has a strong following on social media among fans who he says appreciate the candidness of his style. Just last month, for example, Portnoy took on a hockey commentator who accused Barstool Sports, the media company he founded in the early 2000s, of having a history of “unapologetic” racism and misogyny.
Portnoy told Shapiro in an interview airing Sunday, April 25, that he’s willing to debate with anyone — even in front of a crowd — but that he’s not willing to just stand around and take it when critics come at him first.
“There is an audience that appreciates, and it’s not even Left or Right, it’s kind of both, like, ‘I like how these guys aren’t backing down.’ And our audience allows us to do that, so people have always asked, ‘Why do you fight back’ or ‘Why do you push back’ or ‘Why don’t you just shut up when someone takes a shot at you that you feel is unfair,’ it’s like, I’m not going to do that. I will never throw the first punch, but if you throw a shot at me on Twitter — out of the clouds — it’s not my responsibility to protect you,” said Portnoy.
Portnoy said, “I will never throw the first punch, but if you throw a shot at me on Twitter — out of the clouds — it’s not my responsibility to protect you.”
Portnoy also discussed past incidents that he has had with the NFL, including getting removed from NFL events.
“When they suspended him for four games, we went and protested and — myself and three other Patriot fans who work for me — handcuffed ourselves to each other at NFL headquarters,” the Barstool sports founder told Shapiro. “We got arrested, spent a night in jail for that, and it continued to escalate.”
“I got dragged out of the Super Bowl, it was Patriots-Rams Super Bowl. I bought tickets, and at half-time, they literally had about ten security guards drag me out, in hand-cuffs, because they banned me from the Super Bowl,” he said.
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Source: Dailywire
