- Erika Ayers has been with the company since 2016, after stints at AOL and WWE
- Ayers’ tenure featured tremendous growth for the sports blog and the overall company
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Barstool Sports CEO Erika Ayers confirmed in an emotional video Tuesday morning that she is resigning.
News first emerged that she would be stepping down from her role, which she started in 2016, on Monday evening.
Ayers has overseen the brand’s remarkably rapid growth and bombastic nature, which some consider misogynistic.
The 48-year-old worked hand-in-hand with controversial founder Dave Portnoy throughout her tenure at the company.
She paid tribute to Portnoy in the video message, filmed as she walked to work in New York City, and waved goodbye after overseeing “5,000 percent sales growth” under her watch.
Barstool Sports CEO Erika Ayers has confirmed she is stepping down
Ayers said, “I am stepping down as CEO of Barstool. It makes me super sad.
‘I was just crying in the Metro-North, one of the least attractive things you can imagine. I’ve been wearing too much eye makeup for that.
“It’s been a wild run. I’m so grateful and sentimental when I think back to 2016 and they went through 70 candidates and everything.
She filmed a farewell video while walking to work in New York City, waving goodbye after overseeing “5,000 percent revenue growth.”
‘I actually don’t think anyone wanted the job and I did, or they were stupid enough not to see what it could be and I thought I could make something of it.
‘What we created exceeded my wildest expectations and I am so proud. We grew the company into something I don’t think anyone ever thought possible or likely.
“I think the expectations or the desire for Barstool to fail were very high and I think we defied that and I’m so proud not only of what we built but the fact that we did it our own way have done, in our own style, with our own people and our own propulsion.
“Growing a company by 5,000 percent in revenue in eight years is amazing to me, and the audience grew even more.
‘It’s a strange thing. We have left the company twice in the past year. I feel like the work I came here to do is done. I’m so proud of it. Everything I ever imagined and wanted to achieve, we did.
“I feel so good about Dave. I’m so grateful to Dave for giving me a chance in the first place. I trusted him and still trust him and he’s the right person to turn it into a pirate ship and I think we’ve done a few laps around the sun and now it’s right back where it should be.
“Everything I wanted to do here, I did it and I learned more than I ever thought possible and I got everything I had.
‘So, that’s the news. I’m going to give Dave a hand as long as he needs me. I’m going to try to figure out what I want to do or build next, and that’s it. Viva!’.
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy is a controversial figure and is now looking for a CEO of the company
Barstool was acquired by The Chernin Group for $15 million in 2016 and sold for more than $500 million last February.
PENN Entertainment sold Barstool back to Portnoy for $1 last August in an effort to offload the asset.
Portnoy is also known for his ‘One Bite Pizza Reviews’, in which he rates pizza slices on a scale of up to 10.
Portnoy started Barstool as a gambling site in 2003. With Ayers at the helm, Barstool really captured a bigger part of the media landscape.