Police in Philadelphia are currently investigating a reported antisemitic incident that occurred at a Barstool bar.
Fresh Take:
A Philadelphia police investigation is underway after a despicable antisemitic incident at the Barstool Sports bar in the city last Saturday night. Video clips on social media show a staff member carrying a sign with a vile, anti-Jewish message containing profanity, which a patron can be seen repeating multiple times.
Barstool Sansom Street failed to respond to a request for comment on Sunday evening.
The authorities are actively gathering information and will provide an update "as soon as possible," according to Officer Tanya Little, a police spokesperson, in a statement issued on Sunday.
Temple University, where some students were involved in the incident, placed one student believed to have been involved on interim suspension. The university did not reveal the student's name. The Division of Student Affairs is conducting an investigation, and anyone else found to have been involved will face severe disciplinary action, including potential expulsion.
University President John Fry denounced the incident in a statement, saying, "antisemitism is despicable and has no place at Temple."
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, who is Jewish, reacted angrily to the incident in an expletive-filled video on social media, which he described as an "emergency press conference." He stated that he was so enraged by the incident that he shook for two hours, and he expressed his intention to "ruin these people." He softened his tone in a later post, saying the incident could serve as a "teaching moment."
Portnoy later clarified that the two bottle service workers who served the table with the hateful sign were fired.
In light of the incident, Portnoy has vowed to identify those responsible and offered to send those involved on a educational visit to Auschwitz, a notorious World War II concentration camp in Poland. Portnoy hopes that this experience will help them learn from history and help them think twice before spreading hateful speech in the future.
- Hopefully, the general public will take notice of the incident at Barstool Sports bar in Philadelphia, a despicable display of antisemitism, and unite against such hate speech.
- The student placed on interim suspension from Temple University, where the antisemitic incident occurred, may face potential expulsion if found to have been involved in the incident.
- Regardless of their political views, students and citizens alike should condemn antisemitism as University President John Fry did, stating that it is despicable and has no place at Temple University.
- In the realm of crime and justice, incidents like these at Barstool Sports bar underscore the need for increased sensitivity training for staff members and businesses, to prevent further instances of hate speech and promote a more inclusive environment.
