From ‘Barstool’ to a seat in the House
Sports podcaster eyes Santos’ old job
Barstool Sports personality Bill Cotter, a k a “Billy Football,” has spent the better part of the past seven years “joking around” on the Internet.
Now the 25-year-old Republican wants to be a congressman representing New York’s 3rd District, the Queens and Long Island seat formerly held by the notorious liar George Santos.
“My sincerity should not be questioned,” Cotter said. “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 a lot of hurdles to cross, but Cotter points out that he has a good record when it comes to punching up.
Faces endorsed foe
“I’ve been in a real David-versus-Goliath, when I fought José Canseco,” he said. “He was 100 pounds heavier than me. And I beat him.”
In 2021, Cotter went toe-to-toe with the scandal-plagued former MLB star in Barstool’s “Rough N Rowdy” pay-per-view boxing series, featuring amateur competitors. He knocked Canseco out 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 badly that he was drinking beers the night before the fight. I had been training hard and eating well. I was in top shape,” said Cotter.
The political pugilist is aiming to win the GOP primary on June 25, when he’ll face Mike LiPetri, who is backed by the Nassau County GOP. The winner will then run against Democrat incumbent Tom Suozzi.
In the race, Cotter sees shades of his bout against Canseco, saying neither LiPetri nor the party is taking him seriously.
“I think when you’re drinking large amounts of institutional money, it does make you a little impaired in terms of thinking: ‘I’ve got the money, I’ve got the establishment behind me,’ ” said Cotter.
But he insists he is “serious” about his pivot into politics. Cotter said he’s driven by disillusionment with the migrant crisis, a backslide in law and order, ballooning inflation and grim economic prospects for the young.
The breaking point for Cotter, who does a Barstool podcast, was when the city built a migrant shelter over some of the soccer fields on Randall’s Island in August.
The 2,000-person complex has since been plagued by violence, 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 place for competition,” said Cotter, who was born in Manhattan and raised in the Westchester suburb of North Salem.
“Now there’s a huge migrant camp, and you can’t drop your kid off to play a game and leave to grab a coffee. There is crime taking place less than a mile away from a park where kids are playing football, baseball, and it’s changed the atmosphere of the place.”