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Barstool Sports influencer and golf podcaster Cody “Beef” Franke has died, the company announced. He was 31. Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, on Monday confirmed Franke’s death. “Barstool lost a member of our family this weekend,” Portnoy wrote in a post to X. “Just tragic news. You will never find a nicer more genuine person than Beef. It’s hard to even process it right now. Just another cruel reminder that tomorrow is never promised and to live each day to its fullest. #Ripbeef.” Franke died after a sudden medical issue while attending a wedding in the Dominican Republic over the weekend, according to popular Barstool personality Dan “Big Cat” Katz, The New York Times reports. Katz also issued a statement remembering his late colleague. “Barstool World lost a great one this weekend,” Katz wrote in an Instagram post. “Beef was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. He was a guy who was everyone’s friend and lit up every room. 2 weeks ago he was with the whole crew up to Milwaukee for Cubs Game 5 and on a bus full of big personalities Beef was the guy making everyone laugh with his one liners. Never thought that would be the last moments I spent with him. Hug your loved ones. And hope you find more people like Beef in this world because he made this place better for everyone.” Franke, a former PGA professional, joined Barstool earlier this year and hosted its “ForePlay” golf podcast. He described himself in his Instagram profile as a “common instructor for the common golfer.” “Cody truly loved the game of golf,” the ForePlay podcast wrote in a post to X. “He selflessly spent much of his life helping others improve and enjoy the game. Watching golf bring people happiness is what brought him happiness, and that infectious personality was felt by everyone who met him. He was universally known as the nicest guy in the world.”
