Curt Schilling found himself in hot water following a Facebook post relating to transgender rights. ESPN announced on Wednesday that he has been terminated from the company.
“ESPN is an inclusive company,” ESPN said in a press release. “Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment at ESPN has been terminated.”
The Facebook post was referring to North Carolina’s HB2 bill that, in short, states that transgender individuals must use restrooms assigned to the gender that appears on their birth certificate, rather than the gender in which they identify.
The three-time World Series champion is no stranger to controversial rhetoric. In August of 2015, he was suspended from ESPN for a tweet comparing Muslims to Nazis. In March of 2015, Schilling made headlines for firing back at two individuals on Twitter with regards to comments about his daughter. You can read his blog post about the incident here.
In the aforementioned blog post, Schilling made a point about accountability for what one says. ESPN decided that the Facebook post was the last straw in the roller coaster career for Curt Schilling the analyst.
“These boys have yet to understand one of life’s most important lessons,” Schilling wrote. “In the real world you get held accountable for the things you say and if you are not careful that can mean some different things.”
Schilling is considered by many to be a borderline Hall of Fame candidate. The 49-year-old won 216 Major League games while striking out over 3,000 batters and being named to six All-Star teams. He was perhaps best known for his performances in October. In his postseason career he was 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA.
Baseball aside, however, Schilling has much more to worry about at this point. Teaming up with Randy Johnson in 2001 and taking down the Yankees with a bloody sock in 2004 couldn’t be further in the rear view mirror. He may still be enshrined in Cooperstown, but it could come on a sunny July afternoon – covered in a shower of boos.
Curt Schilling, chief executive officer of 38 Studios LLC and a former Boston Red Sox pitcher, speaks during an interview in New York, U.S., on Monday, Feb. 13, 2012. 38 Studios, formerly Green Monster Games LLC, is an entertainment and intellectual property development company founded by Schilling and named for his jersey number. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg via Getty Images
