Supervisors yank nearly $40K in funding for Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl | Tucson Sports

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Barstool Sports founder and Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl sponsor Dave Portnoy smiles as he is interviewed during a July 27 press conference on the UA campus. Pima County’s board of directors voted Tuesday to raise nearly $ 40,000 for the bowl, citing Portnoy’s previous statements about women and sexual assault.

Rebecca Sasnett, Arizona Daily Star

Arizona Daily Star

Pima County is raising nearly $ 40,000 in funding for the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl, citing statements from its founder, the bowl’s title sponsor.

The board of trustees voted 4-1 on Tuesday to withdraw $ 38,155.56 in funds and request that the county name be removed from the game’s website. The board of directors will decide at its next meeting where to redeploy the funds; Supervisor Sharon Bronson suggested a domestic violence charity.

Before the vote, the board watched a series of inflammatory statements and tweets from Barstool founder Dave Portnoy. Among them was a post from May 2010 in which Portnoy wrote, “Although I never condone rape, if you’re size 6 and wearing tight jeans, you somehow deserve to be raped, don’t you?”

“This is not Pima County,” said Bronson, a Democrat.

Steve Christy, a Republican, was the only manager who voted against the motion. He called the Arizona Bowl leaders “the best examples of good judgment and leadership”.

The Arizona Bowl announced Barstool Sports as its new title sponsor in a press conference last month that was attended by Portnoy and Erica Nardini, CEO of Barstool. The game on December 31st features teams from the Mountain West and Mid-American Conferences. It is streamed on Barstool Sports’ various online platforms, not broadcast on television.

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