Curt Schilling in Hot Water Over Anti-Transgender Facebook Post
Curt Schilling during his Wall of Fame induction at Citizens Bank Park on August 2, 2013.
Update: Schilling has been terminated by ESPN, as per a statement released by the network Wednesday:
“ESPN is an inclusive company. Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated.”
Earlier this week, according to OutSports, Schilling shared an image of a man in drag with the text, “Let him in! To the restroom with your daughter or else you’re a narrow minded, judgmental, unloving, racist bigot who needs to die!!!”
This is ESPN's Curt Schilling's disgusting view of transgender people #HB2 https://t.co/7DKRXDL4GL pic.twitter.com/hLNhtRf9xe
— Outsports (@outsports) April 19, 2016
Outsports added that he posted this comment: “A man is a man no matter what they call themselves. 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.” Though Schilling had some defenders, many people expressed outrage at the comments, as well as the crude manner in which they were delivered. One of those people was Action News’s Brian Taff.
A bloody sock does not make you a hero, Curt Schilling. And your vile opinions undermine the accomplishments that long masked your bigotry.
— Brian Taff (@briantaff6abc) April 20, 2016
ESPN has released a statement: “We are taking this matter very seriously and are in the process of reviewing it.” Schilling took to his personal blog to defend himself, though he put the blame on people who he said “are just dying to be offended.”
The meme the world decided to rally behind that I posted months ago. The meme that some of you clowns and more of you spineless looking to be offended folks turned into something it was not. Every one of you gutless cowards, when ‘calling me out’ or calling me a racist, every one of you left out the only word in that entire meme that mattered. You had to, otherwise you’d have had to go elsewhere to find offense and create something out of nothing. Let me help you now. All of you fraudulent media folks, you lazy ass “don’t actually want to work for a story” clowns. The word you left out? the ONLY word that mattered? EXTREMIST. That word being omitted creates two completely different posts with two very different meanings. I don’t dislike or hate Muslims, or people of the Islamic faith. Ask my friends that are both. But then again you all knew that, but when you omit the word extremist you create a person that doesn’t exist and have a story with traction, even if it is a complete lie.
This latest brew ha ha is beyond hilarious. I didn’t post that ugly looking picture. I made a comment about the basic functionality of mens and womens restrooms, period.
It went on like that. Schilling, who pitched for the Phillies from 1992 to 2000, did not defend the content of the post — though he said he didn’t post it. The first paragraph cited above refers to a meme Schilling posted about Muslims and Nazis last year.
That got him suspended from ESPN, and he was later kept out for the postseason after writing an email to the website Awful Announcing complaining about its coverage.
He told Boston radio station WEEI he did not expect his post to cause any offense. “I stated a fact. Men’s bathrooms were designed for people who stand up, and women’s weren’t. It’s nothing more than that,” he said. “This is the world we live in. [The backlash] is because of the violent non-tolerant minority that shuts up anybody that doesn’t say something that they believe should be said.”
Schilling also told the station he didn’t have confidence ESPN would stand by him. “As far as the money goes, they’re very, very good to me about this stuff,” he said, “but that’s not why I have this job.”
Schilling is scheduled to join Mike Missanelli on his show on 97.5 The Fanatic tomorrow afternoon.
Follow @dhm on Twitter.
