Barstool Sports Employee Dead At 32 After Cancer Battle, Dave Portnoy Mourns

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy just revealed one of his employees has passed away at just 32 years old after a battle with cancer ... sharing a heartfelt tribute to Jonathan Stanko.

Portnoy issued his condolences on Tuesday ... saying Stanko was beloved during his time at the outlet's New York offices for nearly four years, which he admitted was "very rare at Barstool."

"It's the 1st time we've had to deal with something this heavy in the 20 years of Barstool," Portnoy said on social media. "A cruel reminder not to take a day for granted because tomorrow isn’t promised to anybody. #stankostrong."

Stanko joined Barstool as a production technician in 2021 ... after attending Iona College.

He was diagnosed with stage four Adenocarcinoma gastric cancer in April 2024 ... and in a heartbreaking blog post, he opened up on his journey with the disease -- explaining if he did not respond to chemotherapy well, doctors predicted he had just over a year to live.

Despite the challenges he faced, Stanko married his longtime partner at a special ceremony months after the diagnosis.

The tributes have been pouring in from Stanko's coworkers ... with figures like KFC, Big Cat and Ben Mintz sharing their condolences.