Barstool Sports’ Bill Cotter uses boxing money for political involvement

Kirsten Fleming

News from the USA

from Kirsten Fleming

Barstool sports personality Bill Cotter, aka “Billy Football,” has spent the better part of the past seven years “joking” the Internet.

Now, the 25-year-old Republican wants to be a U.S. congressman representing New York’s District 3 — the Queens and Long Island seat formerly held by the notorious George Santos.

“My sincerity must not be questioned,” Cotter told me. “I want to do the right thing. I want to make people proud… For the betterment of the district, our country and my generation, we need more young people to get a voice in the House.”

The political upstart has many hurdles to overcome, but Cotter points out that he has a good track record when it comes to hitting.

“I’ve been in a real David vs. Goliath [battle], when I fought Jose Canseco,” he said. “He was 100 kilograms heavier than me. And I beat him.”

In 2021, Cotter faced off against the scandal-plagued former MLB star on Barstool’s Rough N Rowdy pay-per-view boxing series featuring amateur competitors. He knocked out Canseco in less than 20 seconds and walked away with $50,000 in prize money — $20,000 of which, Cotter said, he used to launch his campaign.

“[Canseco] underestimated me so much that he was drinking beer the night before the fight. I trained hard and ate well. I was in great shape,” said Cotter, who was a regular on “Pardon My Take,” Barstool’s most popular podcast, and is now on the “Macrodosing” podcast.

The political campaigner is looking to win the June 25 GOP primary, when he will face Mike LiPetri, who is endorsed by the Nassau County Republican Party. The winner will then face incumbent Democrat Tom Swasey, who won the seat in February after Congress impeached Santos on federal charges that he stole money from his campaign. (Santos has pleaded not guilty to the charges.)

Cotter sees shades of his previous fight against Conseco in the race — saying neither LiPetri nor the GOP is taking him seriously.

“I think when you’re drinking large amounts of institutional money, it really makes you think a little bit, ‘I’ve got the money, I’ve got the establishment behind me,'” Cotter said. “We have people making millions of dollars in Congress. Are they really serving their constituents?’

But he insists he is “serious” about entering politics. Cotter said he was driven by frustration over the migrant crisis, the retreat of law and order, rising inflation and the bleak economic outlook for young Americans.

The tipping point for Cotter was when the city built a migrant shelter over some of Randall’s Island soccer fields in August 2023. The 2,000-person complex has been plagued by violence ever since., including a fatal stabbing in January.

“How did a place that provided me with such great memories growing up change so quickly? It’s a competitive place,” said Cotter, who was born and raised in Manhattan the suburb of Westchester in North Salem.

“Now there’s a huge migrant camp and you can’t leave your child to play a game and go get a coffee. There are crimes happening less than a mile from a park where kids play football, baseball, and it has changed the atmosphere of the place.

Cotter, whose paternal grandfather was an NYPD cop, said law enforcement officers have been mistreated in New York and across the country, as have veterans.

He’s also concerned about his own generation — and how out of reach the American dream now seems.

He quotes Zac Bryan’s song, “Burn Burn Burn”:

“I want a well-trained dog on a few acres. A sweet, kind lady and a place to take her. A few good friends I can count on one of my hands.

“[Bryan] is very popular throughout America. A good friend of mine actually,” he said of the Americana singer, who is dating “Brianna Chickenfry” LaPaglia on Barstool. “I know he’s from Oklahoma. But we all want the same thing. People want to settle down, have a house, hopefully a family – but they pay rent, live with multiple roommates until their 30s.

Cotter was an all-state football player and attended Williams College where he studied political economy. He began interning at Barstool Sports at 18, and the avid Jets fan has blogged about all areas of the pigskin; last year he even traveled to Africa with another Barstool employee to coach a soccer team in Uganda.

If Cotter wins, he said he’ll reevaluate his role at Barstool — something he’s already discussed with Barstool founder Dave Portnoy.

Last week, Santos endorsed Cotter, who counts John F. Kennedy and Teddy Roosevelt among his political heroes.

As for Portnoy’s endorsement, Cotter said it’s still not a slam dunk.

“Just like I’m going to have to win every vote in District 3, I’m going to have to win his support,” Cotter said. “Dave doesn’t like rooting for losers. He loves winners.”