The Boise State Broncos are pulling out of the 2021 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl because of COVID-19.
The bowl game has been under scrutiny since the media company Barstool Sports announced it would be the title sponsor this summer. Critics say the sports site publishes misogynistic content and its founder, Dave Portnoy, has defended jokes about rape and other questionable content.
Portnoy announced the withdrawal in a tweet and Boise State University confirmed it with a statement Monday afternoon.
Breaking: @BroncoSportsFB has pulled out of @theARIZONABOWL due to too many players contracting covid. We are actively looking for a replacement. I suggest @WSUCougarFB does a poll of players whether they want to play in Az bowl or Sun Bowl.
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 27, 2021
University officials said Boise State football has stopped all team activities because of COVID-19 protocols and did not release information on how many team members may be sick. The decision was made after consulting with medical staff and public health officials and means the team won't play in Friday's game, according to the statement.
“We feel for the young men in our program who were very much looking forward to closing out their season, and for some, their football careers,” Director of Athletics Jeramiah Dickey wrote in the press release.
Portnoy tweeted the bowl is looking for a replacement team. The remaining Central Michigan Chippewas' participation is in question after another team dropped out of the Sun Bowl because of COVID-19 infections.
Sources: The process for Central Michigan to take part in the Sun Bowl starts with first brokering an agreement with the MAC. Then an invitation will go to Central Michigan. Discussions between Sun Bowl officials and MAC officials have begun.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 27, 2021
The Arizona Bowl is scheduled to kick off on Friday, Dec. 31 in Tucson, Arizona.
