Jenna Lemoncelli
Erika Ayers Badan was emotional about stepping down as CEO of Barstool Sports after a “wild run” at the sports and pop culture blog.
Ayers Badan (née Nardini) confirmed the news in a video posted to her X account, and explained that she was crying while on her way to work on Tuesday.
It came after The Post exclusively reported Monday that 48-year-old Ayers Badan is leaving the company eight years after she began her tenure at Barstool in 2016.
“I am stepping down as the CEO of Barstool and I feel super sad about it,” Ayers Badan said while walking in New York City. “I was just crying on Metro North, which is one of the least attractive things imaginable. I wear too much eye makeup for that.
“But it’s been a wild run. I’m so grateful.
“I’m feeling sentimental,” she continued, while reflecting back on 2016 — when she interviewed with “70 other candidates.”
“I kind of think either nobody wanted the job and I did, or they were stupid enough to not see what it could be and I thought I could make something of it,” Ayers Badan said.
“And what we made of it, it exceeded my wildest expectation and I’m so proud. We grew the company into something I don’t think anybody ever thought possible or probable. I think the expectation or desire that Barstool would fail were really high and I think we defied that and I’m so proud about not just what we built — but we did it in our own way, we did it in our own style, we did it with our own people.”
Ayers Badan went on to explain that she feels fulfilled walking away now after everything she has accomplished.
“… Growing a company 5000 percent in revenue over eight years is awesome I think and the audience grew even more than that,” she said. “So, it’s kind of a weird thing. I mean, we exited the company twice in the last year. I feel like the work I came here to do it done. I’m so proud of it. Everything I could have ever imagine and wanted to achieve we did.
Ayers Badan added that she “feels so good” about Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.
“I’m so grateful to Dave for giving me a chance in the first place and I trusted him and I still trust him,” she said. “And he’s the right person to make this a pirate ship and I think we went around the sun a bunch.
“Now it’s back exactly where it should be, as it should be… and I learned more than I could ever have possibly imagined and I gave everything I had.”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy responded to the video and praised Ayers Badan in a separate post on X.
“Only correction is everybody wanted the job,” Portnoy wrote. “We just didn’t like anybody except her. There is no doubt
“@erika_ was the perfect and probably only fit for us. It’s been quite a run and we couldn’t have done it without her. She was everything I dreamed she’d be and more in a CEO.”
Portnoy bought back Barstool Sports from PENN Entertainment for $1 last August after the gambling company acquired the blog for more than $500 million between 2020-23.
It’s unclear what Ayers Badan will do next in terms of her career.
“I’m going not help Dave as long as he needs me,” she said. “I’m going to go try to figure out what I want to go and build do next.”
Her forthcoming book, “Nobody Cares About Your Career” is set for release in June.
Ayers Badan previously worked as an executive at AOL, and she served on WWE’s board.
This post was originally posted by New York Post
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