ESPN Fires Curt Schilling After Defending Anti-LGBTQ Meme

By Sylvia Ogweng. Published: 20 Apr 2016 9:47 PM

ESPN fired baseball analyst Curt Schilling on Wednesday, a day after he shared and defended an anti-transgender meme.

“ESPN is an inclusive company,” the Disney-owned media giant wrote in a statement on Wednesday. “Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated.”

The post in question shows a man dressed in women’s clothing with cut-outs in place to expose his nipples. “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 meme reads.

The former MLB All-Star pitcher, who was suspended in September for tweeting his anti-Muslim views, also shared his controversial stance on North Carolina’s much talked-about bathroom law, which continues to draw backlash from some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Schilling expressed his views on the bathroom law in reply to the image, writing, “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.”

In a statement posted to his personal blog on Tuesday, Schilling attempted to downplay the backlash. “Let’s make one thing clear right upfront… If you get offended by ANYTHING in this post, that’s your fault, all yours,” he wrote. “This latest brew ha ha is beyond hilarious. I didn’t post that ugly picture. I made a comment about the basic functionality of men’s and women’s restrooms, period.”

Schilling began working for the network in 2010. As of late, he offered on-air analysis on “Monday Night Baseball.”

Schilling’s exit brings additional controversy to Disney’s doorstep this week. The company has also been dealing with the fallout from Kelly Ripa’s reportedly “furious”; reaction after her “Live!”; co-host announced he was leaving to join “Good Morning America.”;