Dave Portnoy Hires Ben Mintz After Penn Fires Him For Singing Rap Lyrics, Might Signal Portnoy/Barstool Split

Ben Mintz is no longer unemployed thanks to Dave Portnoy.

The former Barstool Sports employee was embarrassingly fired by Penn after he sang rap lyrics on a live stream featuring a racial slur.

It was an honest mistake that included zero malicious intent, but Penn didn't care. The gaming company forced Barstool Sports to fire Mintz. It was cowardly and shameful, but he's back on the payroll of Portnoy.

Mintz announced Wednesday afternoon that he's been hired by the Barstool Sports founder as the first employee of Brick Watch Company, which is Portnoy's watch company.

"Dave called me to ask me about this job and here's what Dave said to me. 'Mintzy, I got an idea. I want to hire you to be the first employee of Brick Watch.' He said, 'You're not the smartest guy I've ever had. That's for sure, but you have a great heart and you're a man of the people.' Well, Dave Portnoy, you found me two and a half years ago and made me who I am with your job at Barstool, and I'm a man who values loyalty...For you to basically create a new position for me, it honestly means the world to me," Mintz announced in a Twitter video.

Is Dave Portnoy leaving Barstool Sports?

Number one, it's great to see Portnoy come through for his guy. Penn firing Ben Mintz over an honest mistake was insanely stupid and cowardly.

Barstool built a brand on not giving into pressure and then fired a man who clearly was just reading lyrics in the moment.

However, the biggest piece of this situation might have less to do with Mintz and more to do with Portnoy's future. He recently revealed he has 20 months left on his deal with Penn at Barstool.

The fact he personally hired a guy Penn threw under a bus and tossed aside like trash seems to be a massive middle finger to Barstool's ownership.

Does it seem like the move of a man who plans on being around for years? Probably not. At the very least, it requires asking a few questions.

Will Dave Portnoy leave Barstool? (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

While Portnoy's future now seems very cloudy, there's no doubt it was a great decision to take care of Ben Mintz after he was railroaded.