Michael Rapaport is heading to Barstool Sports. The site announced Monday that the actor and comedian (who also directed the When The Garden Was Eden 30 for 30 on the 1970s Knicks) is moving his “I Am Rapaport” podcast over and will be creating new original content for them as well. He’ll still be doing the previously-announced sideline reporting on the Big 3 basketball league for FS1, and may still be contributing to FS1 shows as well, but it looks like most of Rapaport’s sports stuff will now be at Barstool. He pumped up the move to Page Six’s Christine Burroni with some interesting analogies:
“As far as I’m concerned, this is like Shaq coming to the Miami Heat, it’s like when Kanye came to Roc-A-Fella Records,” he said.
The funny thing there, though? Earlier in the interview, Rapaport talked about how he and Barstool founder Dave Portnoy may be opposites because of their respective New York and Boston sports allegiances, but they bonded over a “passionate dislike” of LeBron James.
One thing that Rapaport and Portnoy agreed on from the jump? Their passionate dislike of LeBron James.
“We bonded over that,” the actor said. “You can’t not respect LeBron, he’s the best player playing right now, but I don’t like his business moves as an NBA player,” Rapaport explained.
So, it was totally cool when Shaq demanded that the Lakers trade him (with Miami as a preferred destination) but terrible when LeBron signed there as a free agent. Even if you’re going to riff on that in your own video. Got it. Here’s Rapaport’s video announcing the move:
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/876816874729689089
It will be interesting to see how Rapaport fits in at Barstool. He certainly does have an edge, which he’s shown in things like his feud with ESPN’s Dan Le Batard, and their release plays that up:
Starting today, beloved comedian, actor, podcast host and rabid New York Knicks fan, Michael Rapaport, is officially joining Barstool Sports, the driving force in men’s culture and comedy and fastest growing brand in social media for men ages 18-34. Rapaport will move his podcast “I AM RAPAPORT”, along with his infamous rants and unfiltered opinions, to the Barstool Sports platform. As a longtime sports fan, Rapaport will create new original content for the Barstool platform, be the sideline reporter for The Big 3 Basketball League every Monday this Summer on FS1 and the GM of The Stickmen for The Basketball Tournament.
“Michael Rapaport is a huge get. He is one of the funniest people in the world,” said Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports. “We couldn’t have hand picked a better fit for Barstool. We want to be a place for established and aspiring comedians who fit our brand and voice. Michael is a great example.”
…”I couldn’t be happier about taking my talents to Barstool,” said Rapaport. “I love the mentality and independence of the company and hope I can add to what they’ve done a great job of building. Barstool represents where media is going and they are the innovators. Aside from the fact that the joint is infested with Patriot & Red Sox fans, it’s a perfect fit for what I’m trying to do.”
Rapaport also told Burroni he felt he’ll have more freedom at Barstool than at some other places:
“It’s a place where I can be free within reason, and I’m excited about that,” he told Page Six about lending his voice to the sports news site known for its unfiltered commentary. “I love that they’re irreverent [and] I love that they don’t give a f–k.”
Rapaport, 47, who has his own podcast and also has a gig with Fox Sports 1, explained he’s “gotten light slaps on the wrist” for his rants on different platforms. But now, serving as a representative of Barstool as of Monday, he’s happy to be in a “home” where uncensored comments can fly free.
“I consider my role to be s–t talker extraordinaire,” the “Chuck” star told us, adding that specifics of the announcement are yet to be determined. “There’s a handful of things we’re playing around with, I’m just going to add to the menu,” he said
So, we’ll see how this goes. It certainly sounds like Rapaport may have some further plans to stir things up in the sports media world, and that he’ll be doing so with Barstool’s backing now.
[Page Six]
