Jonathan Stanko, a Barstool Sports producer, passed away amid his battle with stage four stomach cancer. He was 32.
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In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Barstool Sport’s Dave Portnoy confirmed Stanko’s death.
“Really saw news from the world of Barstool,” Portnoy stated. “We lost Jonathan Stanko to cancer yesterday morning. He was 32 years old and leaves behind a wife. He worked in our NY offices for close to 4 years and was well liked by literally everybody he worked with. (Very rare at Barstool).”
Portnoy continued by noting this was the first time that the company had to with something “this heavy.”
“ A cruel reminder not to take a day for granted because tomorrow isn’t promised to anybody,” he wrote, then used the hashtag #stankostrong.
Tech Ops for Barstool Sports, Steve Kultzow, also paid tribute to Stanko by posting various photos of him.
“It was an honor being best friends for 14 years,” Kultzow wrote on X. “I couldn’t have asked for a better friend, roomate and coworker. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you. Thank you for everything.”
Stanko is survived by his wife, Emma.
Jonathan Stanko Announced His Cancer Diagnosis Last Spring, Said He Was Given 14 Months to Live If He Didn’t Respond to Chemotherapy
In a blog post, Stanko opened up about being told he had 14 months to live after being diagnosed with stomach cancer if he didn’t respond to chemotherapy.
“Since February, I have been having digestive issues,” he explained in the May 10 blog post. “There were issues with certain foods, a complete loss of appetite, really bad indigestion and cases of having trouble swallowing. Things came to a head in early April when I was in Chicago and I could not keep down any solid foods. If I managed to swallow even a tomato slice, or a spoonful of chicken, my body cratered to energy levels that could be labeled as zombie-like.”
He noted that the health concerns were valid. After doing an endoscopy, CT scans, multiple ER visits, X-rays, MRIs, and catheter insertions, he found out about the cancer. It has spread from his stomach to his liver.
“According to the doctors at Sloan, the cancer I have is not curable,” Stanko continued. “It’s something that can go away, but it’s something that I’ll have to monitor for the rest of my life. There is also a hard truth. With what the doctors have been able to see thus far, if I do not respond to the Chemotherapy well, then they say 14 months. That’d be how long I can sustain.”
Reassuring his readers, Stanko also noted that his main doctor thought he’d be responding quickly regarding a few symptoms.
Despite his cancer battle, he and Emma got married on July 5.