Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy hasn’t changed his mind about hiring graduates from traditionally high-caliber universities amid a wave of antisemitism on campuses.
“There’s a difference between free speech and hate speech. And when you’re endangering people and causing harm, I think you got to put a stop to it. It’s called common sense,” Portnoy said on “Varney & Co.” Monday.
The media and sports mogul doubled down on his stance on not hiring students from schools like Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) following a scathing post on his Instagram last week criticizing their presidents’ testimonies on Capitol Hill.
When pressed by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing last week about the rise of antisemitism in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, the leaders of three of America’s most prestigious universities could not clearly state under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate conduct policies.
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Portnoy wrote on Instagram: “That is calling for the murder of myself, my parents and my entire family. And these ‘leaders’ refuse to condemn this as hate speech on their campuses? … Not that this will make a huge difference but moving forward I will not hire any student who graduates from any of these schools until these Deans step down.”
Though the Barstool Sports founder clarified Monday on FOX Business that some employees have been “grandfathered” in the company as their hirings came long before his announcement, “a lot of people” have reached out to him regarding the hiring freeze decision.
“It’s not only me. I think a lot of leaders have to do it. It was disgusting what those deans and presidents did under oath. It makes no sense to me,” Portnoy said.
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“I don’t know how, if you can’t condemn genocide, I don’t care whether we’re talking Jews, Muslims, any group of people, then you don’t deserve to be in a position of power. You got to get out,” he continued.
Following her testimony and media backlash, UPenn President Liz Magill resigned on Sunday. And while a Harvard board also reportedly met to discuss their leadership’s fate, a faculty letter obtained by FOX News Monday argued against firing President Claudine Gay, citing “the critical work of defending a culture of free inquiry.”
FOX News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.