Curt Schilling Fired From ESPN Over Anti-Transgender Comment on Facebook

Former All-Star pitcher sparked controversy after responding to a meme

By Francesca Bacardi Apr 21, 2016 4:53 PMTags
Curt SchillingJared Wickerham/Getty Images

Curt Schilling has gotten the cut.

ESPN fired its analyst Wednesday after he posted a comment on Facebook that immediately drew criticism. The former All-Star pitcher appeared to respond to a meme that referenced North Carolina's law that bans transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms that don't correspond with their birth sex.

The Facebook post that Schilling responded to showed an overweight man wearing a wig and T-shirt with cutouts to expose his breasts. "LET HIM IN! to the restroom with your daughter or else you're a narrow-minded, judgmental, unloving racist bigot who needs to die," the picture says.

"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," he wrote in the comments section of the post. "Now you need laws telling us differently? Pathetic." 

He later deleted the comment.

"ESPN is an inclusive company," the sports network said in a statement. "Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated."

This isn't the first time Schilling has gotten in trouble because of his social media presence. ESPN suspended him for a month after he compared radical Muslims to Nazis on Twitter. Wednesday morning Schilling gave an interview to radio station WEEI where he defended his actions.

"To be in a place where people actually believe I'm a racist or I'm transphobic says to me that something has gone horribly askew somewhere," he explained to the hosts. "I replied to the post. I didn't post that."