Hannah Horsfield

Hargun Kaur views the newest Barstool post during study hall. Barstool accounts have taken over school districts spreading nasty remarks about student athletes.

School rivalries began as a way to create a competitive atmosphere and promote school spirit, but have transitioned to cyberbullying on Barstool accounts. Almost every school in the country has a Barstool Twitter account affiliated with Barstool Sports to support student athletes and highlight success.

Originally created by Dave Portney, Barstool accounts are run by an anonymous student who is in charge of covering information regarding the school’s sports teams. Unlike other school social media accounts, Barstool is not directly affiliated with the school, making it extremely difficult to shut down. 

Barstool accounts have been undoubtedly popular for creating excitement for games and encouraging school spirit. “Barstool in the sports world, especially football, is huge. It’s a way to get in the other team’s head and creates rivalry on the field. This year especially v.s. Bettendorf the game felt personal,” said senior football player Ben Birkel. 

Although Barstool accounts report on their sports teams’ current success, they have begun to target their competitors’ athletes. Oftentimes, the trash talk shared has no relation to the sport and focuses solely on an athlete’s personal life. Accounts will scour social media for any embarrassing pictures or videos of an athlete or their family members and post them with demeaning captions. 

These humiliating posts not only tarnish the image of the individual but also mar their digital footprint. A clean digital footprint is critical for obtaining job opportunities, extracurriculars and remaining in good standing at home and school. By exposing private information, Barstool sports damage an athlete’s reputation in their community and home. 

Unfortunately, news spreads fast when Barstool posts are made and many students and parents tune in. “I think Barstool is definitely the talk of the town when something big is posted, everyone is talking about who got posted and what it was. It can be a big deal to be posted considering how many people can see,” said Pleasant Valley senior. 

Additionally, Barstools often forget to comment on women’s sports. At PV, women’s sports are extremely successful, yet there isn’t one post congratulating the many women’s state championship titles. Within the past year, no posts supporting Pleasant Valley women’s sports have been made. In fact, the only post involving women is a retweet from over a year ago stating, “REMINDER: no females in the first 3 rows #youguyssuck”.

Oftentimes viewers end up being pleasantly surprised with how entertaining women’s sports are. “I think a lot of women’s sports are more enjoyable to watch. Everyone goes to the boy’s games because of all the hype. I wish the students would actually come to our games because they are fun to watch and we win. We don’t get any support for our games,” said senior and Basketball state champion Reagan Pagniano.

The administration has expressed its concerns with the controversial barstool account. The school prides itself in having a respectful, spirited student body. When tweets are blasted including slurs and derogatory comments, it reflects poorly on the entire student body. Not only is this behavior unfair to students who display positive qualities, but it also makes the school look less inviting and out of control. 

Schools that truly believe in their sports programs don’t need to tear down their competitors’ athletes. Confidence in their abilities and sportsmanship should speak for itself. Barstool accounts give bullies a way to hide behind anonymity while pretending to support their school. Barstool is not an excuse to forget about morals and it’s time for students to understand that being a good person should matter more than the outcome of any game.