Barstool Sports Founder Accuses Business Insider Of Libel

BOSTON — Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court in Boston Monday accusing Business Insider publisher Insider Inc.of knowingly publishing "two false and defamatory exposés into the private life of the well-known founder of Barstool Sports."

The 73-page complaint also accuses Business Insider of timing the publication of the reports that contained "outright fabrication" to the release of earnings reports by Penn National Gaming, which has a 36 percent stake in Barstool Sports. Portnoy founded Barstool in Boston in 2003 before moving the company's headquarters to New York City in 2016.

Portnoy, as well as representatives for Barstool Sports and Insider Inc., were not immediately available for comment Monday morning. The lawsuit also names Business Insider reporters Julia Black and Melkorka Licea, and their editor, Nicholas Carlson, as defendants.

"Defendants calculated that 'cancelling' Mr. Portnoy would be lucrative business for Insider. Insider and its staff were willing to cash in on their stories while knowingly disregarding the truth," the complaint said. "In publishing the false and defamatory stories aimed at destroying Mr. Portnoy’s reputation, Insider sought to cause the downfall of one of Massachusetts’s most well known entrepreneurs and media personalities. "

Business Insider published the most recent article on Feb. 2 and referenced the first article, which was published Nov. 4, 2021.

"Over the last ten months, Defendants have engaged in targeted smear campaign designed to destroy Mr. Portnoy’s reputation and boost Insider’s viewership and subscription revenue," the complaint continues. "Mr. Portnoy has never sexually assaulted anyone, and Defendants are well-aware of this fact. Nevertheless, Insider is attempting to cash in on the climate of fear and 'cancel culture' permeating the media, whereby it has become open season for anyone to make any claim (no matter how vile and unsupported) about anyone seemingly without consequence."

Read the full complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

Dave Copeland is Patch's regional editor for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).