ESPN Fires Curt Schilling Over Facebook Post

ESPN fired baseball analyst Curt Schilling on Wednesday, relieving the former All-Star pitcher of his duties a day after he shared a controversial meme on Facebook.

ESPN announced the move via press release:

"ESPN is an inclusive company. Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated."

The meme Schilling shared pretty much defies description, so here it is:

The context here is, of course, a new North Carolina law that forces transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding to the gender listed on their birth certificates.

Schilling deleted the post, but offered a defense of it in a long blog post.

"YOU’RE the ones making it the issue. I don’t care, if you ask me about any of the topics it’s likely (much to the chagrin of many) I’ll answer with my opinion. 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."

ESPN, evidently, was unswayed. Schilling had been an ESPN analyst since 2010. Known for his outspokenness, Schilling has a habit of making people mad with opinions that have nothing to do with sports, which is a dangerous characteristic for an ESPN employee. Last year he was suspended for a clumsy comparison between modern-day Muslims and 1940s Germans, and last month suggested Hillary Clinton be buried under a jail.

Whether or not you care to mount a defense of Schilling’s opinions, most of us can agree he is not among our country’s sharpest political commentators, and for his own good is probably best off just sticking to sports.