On Saturday, Barstool Sports podcast host Kirk Minihane tweeted that “The Kirk Minihane Show” would be going on hiatus as he enters treatment to deal with “depression and suicidal thoughts.”
The last month or so I’ve really been struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. I’m going to enter a treatment program to fight this, so the show will be on hiatus. I’m scared that these thoughts and feelings are back, but this is life with depression. It’s a hard fight.
— Kirk Minihane (@kirkmin) February 29, 2020
“The last month or so I’ve really been struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. I’m going to enter a treatment program to fight this, so the show will be on hiatus. I’m scared that these thoughts and feelings are back, but this is life with depression. It’s a hard fight.”
Minihane has been with Barstool Sports since May 2019. He’d previously gain notoriety as a morning show host at WEEI in Boston where, as the Boston Globe put it, he was a “contentious host who brought big ratings and frequent controversy. He parted ways with WEEI back in November 2018 after five years there and launched his podcast in January 2019 before joining Barstool’s podcast network.
In August 2019, it seemed as though the honeymoon was over when Minihane and Barstool were sued over an interview Minihane conducted with Somerville Mayor Curtatone. In the interview, Minihane posed as “Kevin Cullen of The Boston Globe“, (which is of note since Minihane was responsible for Cullen’s 2018 suspension for fabrication). He also posted the interview on Barstool’s website. That led to some public bickering between Portnoy and Minihane, which eventually led the podcast host to say, “My days at Barstool are over, it seems. I’d be stunned if it isn’t.”
Stunned or not, Minihane remained with the company and the lawsuit against them was dismissed in January.
As Boston.com notes, Minihane has long been open and public when it comes to mental health issues. He had previously taken a leave of absence from WEEI’s “Kirk and Callahan” show in September 2018 over mental health concerns. After briefly returning to the show he would go back on leave again shortly thereafter, saying at the time, “Still battling mental health issues…Truth is I came back to work too fast.’’
“Kirk Minihane Show” producer Steve Robinson, Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, and Barstool CEO Erika Nardini were among those sharing their support after the announcement.
Please pray for Kirk. https://t.co/7wK7nxmmf7
— Steve Robinson (@BigSteve207) February 29, 2020
I don’t pretend to know anything about mental illness. I do know we’ll obviously support Kirk in any way we can and we’ll be ready whenever he wants to resume. https://t.co/FGlX7aqGIY
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) February 29, 2020
Could not be a bigger Minifan. You got this. We’ve got you. ❤️👊🏻
— Erika (@erika_) February 29, 2020
Kirk’s co-host, Blind Mike, also hosted a live stream to discuss more details around what led to Kirk’s decision.
https://twitter.com/BlindMike_/status/1234119254791815170
