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Anti-Israel Group Expands Boycott From Jewish State to Barstool Sports

Dave Portnoy / Getty Images
July 2, 2020

A leading anti-Israel group has expanded its call to boycott the Jewish state and is now calling for a boycott against Barstool Sports, accusing the popular website of "unapologetic racism" and violent "hate speech."

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), a group that has accused Israel of carrying out "apartheid" and "ethnic cleansing," called on all Barstool sponsors and viewers to boycott the company on Wednesday.

"We can no longer excuse hatred and must hold racists accountable for their actions and their rhetoric," the ADC said in a statement. "Hate speech is not funny and can lead to violence."

The call to boycott came after jokes that Barstool founder Dave Portnoy made in 2016 resurfaced on social media. Portnoy questioned Colin Kaepernick's decision to kneel during the national anthem, joking that he thought the ex-NFL quarterback was an "ISIS guy" who looked "Arabic."

The ADC supports the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which seeks Israel's destruction. Former ADC leaders have praised terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, calling them "very respectable," "disciplined," and "responsible." The group has also defended Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) against accusations of anti-Semitism, calling them "fictitious" and "dangerous to the victims of true anti-Semitism." Omar, who also supports BDS, has likened boycotting Israel to boycotting Nazis and said the Jewish state "hypnotized the world."

Barstool did not reply to a request for comment. Portnoy has refused to apologize for the comments, saying he won't "bend the knee" to the "no-fun club."

"Whenever you try to cancel us and do these movements that pop up once every couple years, it only makes us stronger because normal people want an escape for a couple f—ing seconds from this f—ed up world," Portnoy said in a video. "It just makes them like us more, so alright, keep trying to cancel us, we'll keep growing stronger."

The ADC, which did not respond to a request for comment, has also targeted other media publications and journalists in the past. In 2013, the group accused the Washington Free Beacon* of harassment, racism, and bigotry after a reporter requested tax documents that the group is required by law to share.

*Full disclosure: This is the Washington Free Beacon