Barstool Sports Founder Loses Defamation Suit Over Sex Misconduct Stories

Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy’s defamation case against Insider was dismissed by a federal judge on Monday. Portnoy sued the outlet after it published articles beginning in November 2021 based on accounts from several anonymous women describing sexual encounters with Portnoy which began as consensual but then became violent or humiliating. In dismissing the suit Monday, District of Massachusetts Chief Judge Dennis Saylor IV wrote that Portnoy’s case had failed to show that Insider published the pieces “with a reckless disregard for the truth,” adding that Portnoy had admitted that the first article was investigated “for months” and the outlet had requested to speak with him about the piece prior to publication.