PHILADELPHIA, PA – A sign reading “F*** Jews” displayed at Barstool Sports’ bar in Philadelphia has resulted in the firing of two employees and a pledge from company founder Dave Portnoy to send the individuals responsible for ordering the sign to Auschwitz as a form of Holocaust education.
Portnoy who is Jewish said he will show mercy on two individuals behind the sign, but fired two others on the spot.
The incident, which took place over the weekend, drew immediate backlash after the sign was posted and circulated on social media. The advocacy group StopAntisemitism identified two Temple University students, Mohammed “Mo” Khan and Mike Wade, as being involved in the incident, with Khan appearing to thank Wade in a now-private Instagram story.
“I talked to Wade. He was crying,” Portnoy wrote in a post on X. “I have Mo Khan’s cell and talked to his buddy who did it.”
Portnoy later issued an “emergency press conference” on social media, explaining that while his initial instinct was to “burn these people to the ground,” he instead decided on an educational response. “I’m sending the people who ordered the ‘F*** Jews’ signs at my bar to Auschwitz to learn about the Holocaust,” Portnoy said. “Rather than ruin a couple 20-year-olds’ lives maybe this can be used as a teaching moment.”
Portnoy says travel to Holocaust sites will be mandatory
Portnoy confirmed that the two bottle service staffers who approved and displayed the sign were immediately terminated. He characterized one of them as “just the dumbest human I’ve ever talked to,” stating that she acted without approval and pressured another worker into participating.
The individuals responsible for requesting the sign are not employed by Barstool, but Portnoy said he has contacted their families and received their agreement to participate in the educational trip. He plans to cover the expenses of sending them to Germany to visit Auschwitz and other Holocaust memorial sites.
All right, real quick update on the the Jews sign. That was at my bar in Philadelphia yesterday. Two hours ago, I was cooked. Literally could have cooked an egg on my head. That’s how much steam and heat I had come out of my ears.
And the more I thought about it, it’s like, these are young morons who did this. They’re drunk. It’s like, do you really want to ruin somebody’s life? And let me be honest, I don’t know what’s going on in the world. Well, I do the Middle east, obviously, but I’ve been doing Barstool for 20 years.
I’ve had more hate, more anti Semitism in the last year, year and a half than I’ve ever had doing it. And whether people. It’s like Kanye, the UFC guy, it’s like mainstream lunatics. And I’m not talking about politics or what’s going on in the Middle east, just hating groups of people. You hate my parents, you hate my grandparents, Shit like that.
It’s crazy. So, yeah, my initial reaction was like, I’m gonna fucking burn these people to the ground. Their families, everything. And it’s like, you know what? Maybe that’s not the best course of action.
Maybe I can use this as a teaching moment. And, like, before, people just are like, the Jews or any group and the hate. Let’s try to, like, turn a hideous incident into maybe a learning experience as cliche and very unlike me, but I talked to both the culprits who I know are super involved in it. Talk to the families. I’m sending these kids to Auschwitz.
They’ve agreed to go. That’s, of course, the Holocaust concentration camps. Been in touch with the Crafts who run the anti hate group. We’re going to send these kids to Auschwitz, and they’re going to do a tour of the concentration camps in Germany and hopefully learn something and maybe, like, their lives aren’t ruined and they think twice. And more importantly, other people, like, see, it’s not just, like, words you’re throwing around.
So to me, that’s a fair outcome of this event. The two waitresses who worked at our place fired one of them. So dumb. Kelly. Just the dumbest human I’ve ever talked to.
And I don’t know if she thought she was making a political statement, but it was basically her alone. Didn’t go to a manager. Kind of forced another girl to do it. She should have said no, but the other girl put up a fight. Those two girls are fired.
But more importantly, the people who ordered these signs, they have agreed. I’m going to pay for it. We’re going to send them to Germany, to Auschwitz, and learn a little bit about history and hopefully, you know, get educated and use this as a teaching moment, not just for them, but maybe for everybody. So that’s where we’re at. So for everyone, like, who wants these kids lives to be ruined?
I think you can lay off and I think this is a fair fucking trade.
As of Sunday evening, neither Khan nor Wade has publicly commented on the allegations. The Philadelphia location of Barstool Sports has not released an official statement beyond Portnoy’s social media comments.
A hate-filled sign at Barstool Philly has sparked firings, outrage, and a highly publicized effort to turn the incident into a controversial educational punishment.