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Keith Olbermann is being vehemently criticized online for his take on the Oxford school shooting, which he in part attributed to the influence of Barstool Sports.
The post comes after Barstool blogged about the death of Tate Myre, one of the victims. According to Newsweek, which Barstool was aggregating in its post, Myre died while attempting to disarm the shooter.
Olberman took issue with Barstool highlighting the actions of Myre.
“This kid died to stop a school shooter whose mother echoed the Trumpist Fascism of @stoolpresidente and @barstoolsports,” Olbermann tweeted, calling out the site and its founder, Dave Portnoy. Olbermann was referencing a blog post by the shooter’s mother that she wrote in November 2016 and made the online rounds in the wake of the massacre. In it, she vehemently criticized Hillary Clinton and endorsed President Donald Trump right after he won the election. She praised the Second Amendment, and referenced her son in it, saying about Clinton “I knew in the deepest of my gut that I could not let this woman have control over my son’s future.”
The shooter’s parents have faced scrutiny, as it appears that his father purchased the weapon used in the killings. But the politics of the 15-year-old charged are unknown, and without more information, his mother praising Trump in 2016 is a jump in conclusions to motivations and inspiration for the school shooting.
Barstool has come under fire for its misogynistic attitudes and right-wing politics, especially in the wake of a Business Insider report on women who accused Portnoy of sexually aggressive behavior.
But Olbermann’s flagging their choice to highlight a victim didn’t get the response he perhaps wanted online.
There’s plenty to criticize Barstool for, but many felt Olbermann’s choice here wasn’t quite it.