ESPN ran out of patience with Curt Schilling and the network fired the baseball analyst Wednesday. Schilling had proved unwilling to temper his controversial comments on social and political topics, and in his latest episode, he shared a Facebook meme about transgender issues that many found offensive.
“ESPN is an inclusive company,” the network said in a statement emailed to The Washington Post. “Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated.”
Schilling had been taken off of ESPN’s baseball coverage in September, after he shared a meme that compared extremism in today’s Muslim world to Nazi Germany in 1940. Shortly after that, a filing with the Federal Election Commission showed that Schilling, while donating $250 to Ben Carson’s presidential campaign, had listed his employer as “ESPN (Not Sure How Much Longer)” and, under “Occupation,” he wrote, “Analyst (For Now Anyway).”
In March, Schilling told a radio station that Hillary Clinton “should be buried under a jail somewhere,” in apparent violation of an ESPN policy on commentary relating to the presidential election. However, the network allowed the former pitcher to keep his position as an analyst on Monday baseball telecasts.
However, weighing in on the so-called bathroom laws enacted in several states, most recently North Carolina, in the manner that Schilling did apparently served as the last straw. He had shared a meme, presumably created by someone else, of a man in a wig and an unusual, tight outfit, adding a comment that made clear his feelings on the matter.
“A man is a man no matter what they call themselves,” Schilling wrote. “I don’t care what they are, who they sleep with, men’s room was designed for the penis, women’s not so much. Now you need laws telling us differently? Pathetic.”
After getting some backlash, Schilling took to his personal blog Tuesday to decry the “‘offended’ people” who, he wrote, “are full of crap.” The six-time MLB all-star added, “You frauds out there ranting and screaming about my ‘opinions’ (even if it isn’t) and comments are screaming for ‘tolerance’ and ‘acceptance’ while you refuse to do and be either.”
The 49-year-old Schilling, whose pitching career ended in 2007, had worked for ESPN since 2010. After he was removed from his analyst duties last fall, the network broke ground by replacing him with Jessica Mendoza on its Sunday night telecasts.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/04/20/espn-fires-curt-schilling-for-unacceptable-conduct/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_el-schilling845p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
