ESPN Fires Curt Schilling Over ‘Unacceptable Conduct’ After Analyst’s Politically Incorrect Facebook Post

Schilling's wife and son defend him and note that he has been welcoming of transgendered friends in their home.

By The Stream Published on April 21, 2016

ESPN fired former Red Sox pitcher and baseball analyst Curt Schilling Wednesday, citing his “unacceptable conduct” after Schilling shared a meme about the transgendered bathroom laws on Facebook.

The network released a statement citing their standing as “an inclusive company.”

“Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated,” ESPN wrote.

Schilling is known for speaking his mind, but it was his comment on the bathroom laws enacted in several states that went beyond the pale for ESPN. Schilling shared a meme on Facebook of a man in a wig and a grotesque outfit.

“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.”

Schilling defended himself at his personal blog this week:

There are things I have deeply held beliefs in, things I have that are core to who I am, things I am passionate about. If you ask me about them it’s likely I’ll give you a passionate answer, whether you like that answer or not is completely up to you. I am not going to give you answers to make sure you like what I say, let the rest of the insecure world do that.

But let me reiterate, I don’t care who, what, where or why you are who you are. I care about people and how they treat others. You will NEVER in your lives find a single person who’s met me/knows me who would ever say I treated them as anything other than a human. None.

Schilling’s wife and son took to Facebook and testified to Schilling’s personal acceptance of transgendered and gay people in their home.

“…[I]t’s come to my attention my father Curt Schilling has been slandered as a ‘transphobic bigot,’” Grant Schilling wrote. “… If he were a bigot he wouldn’t have allowed my Trans friends to stay over, he’s respected pronouns and name changes — never once have I heard him say something to me that I thought he should keep quiet about.”

Shonda Schilling wrote, “DON’T EVER accuse anyone in this Schilling home of having issues or a phobia about trans people… Curt Schilling is probably more educated and has met more trans people then most of the sports writers spreading this nonsense. If you want a real story talk to these kids about how hard it is to get family, friends and society to accept them. This house is and will always be the one place that everyone is accepted and feel[s] loved.”

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