ESPN Fires Curt Schilling Following Anti-Transgender Facebook Post
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- ESPN has benched Curt Schilling permanently.
The sports network fired the former world champion pitcher following his anti-transgender post on Facebook.
"ESPN is an inclusive company. Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated," the network said in a statement.
Schilling shared a post Monday showing a man in a wig, wearing a tight shirt, skirt and stockings with the caption: "Let him in? To the restroom with your daughter or else you're a narrow minded, judgmental, unloving racist bigot who needs to die!!!"
In a comment underneath the post, Schilling said, "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."
After a firestorm of criticism, Schilling defended himself in a blog post Tuesday, calling it "beyond hilarious."
"I didn't post that ugly looking picture. I made a comment about the basic functionality of mens and womens restrooms, period," Schilling wrote.
He continued, "See here's the thing. I do NOT care what color you are, what race, what sex, who you sleep with, what you wear. I don't care and I never have. I have opinions, but they're just that, opinions. And opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one and they usually stink."
Schilling said that the people who were offended by the post "are full of crap."
"You frauds out there ranting and screaming about my 'opinions' (even if it isn't) and comments are screaming for 'tolerance' and 'acceptance' while you refuse to do and be either," Schilling wrote.
Schilling told Boston's WEEI Radio Wednesday that he was "blindsided" at the post's response.
"I got a call late yesterday. I don't know how you guys saw this thing. I was kind of blindsided by this one," Schilling said. "When I got the call I was like, 'I don't get this. How did this become that?' I assume I'll be talking with some people today."
Schilling said he "stated a fact" with the Facebook post.
"Men's bathrooms were designed for people that stand up, and women's weren't. And it was nothing more than that. What if I had said people make men's bikes just for men and women's bicycles just for women?" Schilling stated.
Schilling added, "I'm not a victim. I'm not trying to make it out to be a victim. If someone wants to make someone think something of you, whether you are or not, in this day and age it's not hard to do."
Schilling has gotten in trouble with previous social media posts. Last year, ESPN suspended Schilling for an anti-Muslim tweet.
Earlier this year, Schilling said in a radio interview that Hillary Clinton should be "buried under a jail."
Schilling had worked for ESPN since 2010.
