A Temple University student on Tuesday defended his part in an antisemitic incident at a Barstool Sports bar in Philadelphia.
Mo Khan, 21, identified himself as the Temple student who posted a video of a woman who appears to be a server at Barstool Sansom Street in Center City Philadelphia holding a sign bearing an antisemitic message on Saturday.
In a video posted on X Tuesday night, Khan lashed out at Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who is Jewish and has frequently posted about the incident to his millions of social media followers since the video went viral.
“They have no right to destroy my life over free speech and ultimately something that was an edgy joke,” he said in the video. “Frankly, they’re more worried about destroying and uprooting me than the thousands of people getting destroyed and uprooted in genocide.”
“That sign had no effect in terms of killing any Jews. However, Israel kills thousands of people on a daily basis,” he added. “Dave Portnoy and the greater Jewish community are acting as if they are the victims, when this whole time I am the victim.”
After posting the hateful video of the sign, Khan called himself a citizen journalist and shared information about a GiveSendGo fundraiser he started after the incident. He also urged Portnoy to apologize and asked for restitution.
“He is lynching me, absolutely canceling me in any way possible and ruining my life,” Khan said.
Portnoy, 48, posted a video of his own on social media on Tuesday night, where he accused Khan of initially taking responsibility for his part in the incident before backtracking. Portnoy also said he rescinded his offer to Khan and another person involved in the incident to send them to Auschwitz, the notorious German Nazi concentration camp in Poland, to learn about the Holocaust.
“You f—ing anti semitic piece of s—,” Portnoy, 48, said. “And I tried to show grace. … I tried to actually, now I feel dumb, to make it right. And now he does this video, blaming it on me.”
On Tuesday night, Khan also appeared on the internet show Stew Peters Live to defend the incident. Peters is known for promoting antisemitic beliefs and misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the show, Khan said that he was trying to raise awareness about the Israeli military’s actions in the war in Gaza. The profane banner Khan showcased in his initial video attacked Jews but did not mention Israeal or its policies. Many Jews have expressed their opposition to or concerns about Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“It was clearly provocative, because it reminds people of what Israel’s actions are doing across the country,” Khan said. “So, I recorded it, uploaded it, didn’t expect much backlash.”
Khan also argued that his free speech rights are being violated. The constitution protects undue regulation on speech by government. Barstool Sports and Temple are both private entities.
The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed Sunday that it is investigating the incident but offered no updates on Tuesday. Khan has not been charged with any crimes.
Temple University confirmed Sunday that it suspended a student, but did not name the student.
On Wednesday, the university’s president, John Fry, appeared to condemn Khan’s interview on Stew Peters Live.
“Yesterday, we became aware that a student participated in an interview with a media personality who has a history of producing extreme antisemitic and racist content,” Fry said in a statement. “The content of this interview was both appalling and deeply offensive. Antisemitism is not tolerated at Temple.”
Fry added that students who are found to be in violation of its conduct code could face expulsion.
The incident comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to strip some universities, including Harvard and Columbia, of federal funding over criticisms that the universities are not doing enough to combat antisemitism on their campuses.
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