A sports blogger backed down when a controversial post got him a visit from police.
David Portnoy, the man behind the sports blog that decided it would be a good idea to post photos of New England Patriots star QB Tom Brady's naked toddler son, agreed to remove the pics after law enforcement came to his home.
The Boston Globe reports police and the Massachusetts attorney general's office arrived at the head of BarstoolSports.com's Boston area home to let Portnoy know it would be smart to take the photos down.
"It would be in the best interest of everybody involved," to remove the photos, Portnoy told the Globe.
The Attorney General's office said officials spoke to Portnoy as part of a preliminary investigation to determine if the posting was against child exploitation laws.
Not everyone is pleased with BarstoolSports.com taking the photos down; a handful of First Amendment specialists are concerned that Portnoy was pressured to give up his free speech rights.
"I think it's a real stretch that this is a criminal matter," said Jonathan M. Albano, a Boston lawyer who specializes in media law. "And there's an inherent element of coercion when civilians are faced with police in uniforms."
Portney denied he was urged to remove the posting, but claimed it was hard to say no when "police show up at your door."
Attorney General Martha Coakley said after speaking with Portnoy, her office determined charges would not be filed.
Portney appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius XM radio show Tuesday morning. The shock jock surprisingly gave the sports blogger a scolding for posting the photo of the naked kid.
WEEI Sports Radio's programming boss Jason Wolfe banned Portnoy from appearing on WEEI's "Big Show." Tom Brady has been a regular paid contributor to the station for years.
