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By RILEY RADOBENKO
Columnist

Every day, I’ll log onto my social media accounts and usually find one or two tweets or ‘hit pieces’ from irrelevant media companies criticizing Barstool Sports, which is a controversial, multimedia entertainment company.

The consensus on the Internet is if you consider yourself a ‘stoolie’, which is what the site’s fan base is called, you’re a racist and sexist loser in life. I find that a bit aggressive considering I’m a fan of the company and the work they produce, and I’d like to think that every person I’ve met in my life doesn’t think about those words when my name comes up, whether they like me or not. I’d like to think I’ve never done or said anything in my life that warrants that terminology.

Despite all that, the amount of disapproving looks and cold shoulders I get when I say I’m a fan of Barstool is remarkable. I get it. Their content is not for everybody.

They are a company that believes any publicity is good publicity. Due to this, they lack core values and ethical morality.

Most Internet and entertainment companies that began 10 years ago are dead, or have deleted anything in their history that would show a negative connotation towards the company. Barstool didn’t.

They’ve said a lot of harsh things. They’ve done a lot of scumbag things. And although they’ve dialed it back, they still say and do things today that constantly offend people.

But in a politically-correct world, they push the boundaries in an effort to be funny. They’re comedians, sports fans and averages guys and girls who are blunt, honest and will fight back when somebody unsuccessfully attempts to bring them down.

Does that make their content people malicious?

A handful of their content people were in Washington, D.C. last summer doing an event. I attended and they were some of the nicest people I met. It was one of the hottest days of the year, and of the guys I met, they each took a picture and talked to me for 25 minutes. The next day, it was a near tornado outside, yet they stayed to make sure every person in the lineup that went down the street was able to get a picture.

I reached out to Jared Carrabis, the Major League Baseball (MLB) and Boston Red Sox writer for Barstool, hoping he’d contribute to one of my Niagara News columns. He responded and gave me the answers within an hour.

People have a preconceived notion about the people who work for Barstool just based on the negative connotation the company gets, or by the character they portray on social media. Yet, when you meet their content guys personally, they’re some of the nicest, down-to-earth people you could meet.

Let me be clear when I say I don’t agree with a lot of controversial things that have been said by their employees. I’m sure other Stoolies can agree with that. Like any other company, Barstool messes up. Sometimes they say the wrong things. Sometimes they handle issues poorly. I know for a fact they’ll be the first to admit that.

But that’s what makes Barstool real. That’s the reason they rose above and became a pirate ship in an arguably dying industry.

That’s the reason they’re one of the fastest growing media companies on the Internet. That’s the reason they have such a loyal fan base. I understand their content isn’t for everyone. I’ll be honest, I don’t like all their content. And I understand that my opinion on the company is an unpopular one, so I expect to get some backlash.

But at the end of the day, I’ll still read the blog, watch and listen to their content and wear their merchandise. Why? Because I enjoy Barstool’s content and know the people who work for them and support them aren’t bad people as the general consensus on the Internet makes them seem. Because at the end of the day, Barstool is one of the fastest-growing media brands on the Internet.

They’ve always said you’re either with them or against them, and that’s been nothing but true the past few months.

All I got to say to that is ‘viva la stool.’