Barstool President Dave Portnoy Suspended from Twitter, Quickly Reinstated Following Backlash
It didn’t last long, but Barstool Sports President Dave Portnoy was suspended from Twitter for two hours on Friday evening.
The suspension did not have an obvious cause. Still, it had an immediate impact as thousands of Twitter followers flooded the site with shocked and angry comments, and #FreeDave Portnoy appeared in the trending column on accounts worldwide.
“The will of the people will be heard. #freeportnoy,” Portnoy told Fox News while his account was still suspended. Then, at around 9:10 EST, Portnoy tweeted: “I’m back.”
I’m back. #freeportnoypic.twitter.com/EeY0hnelrO
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 19, 2021
Portnoy replied, “I don’t know,” when asked by Fox News to explain the reason for his suspension.
One of the more popular theories for why Barstool’s “El Presidente” was suspended was put forth by conservative Ian Miles Cheong, who seems to believe that Twitter shut Portnoy’s account down for telling someone he would drop his “nuts” on their head in response to a post. The possibility exists that Twitter could have seen Portnoy’s response as a threat.
The legend Dave Portnoy was suspended for promising to drop his nuts on someone's forehead. pic.twitter.com/DKzmhIRzYX
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 19, 2021
As of this writing, Twitter has not given the reason for suspending Portnoy’s account.
