ESPN Has Fired Curt Schilling for His Remarks about Transgendered People

A day after Curt Schilling posted inflammatory comments about transgendered people, ESPN has finally cut bait with him. Last year, the network suspended Schilling for making comments on social media about Muslims and Nazis. Apparently, this was the final straw.

ESPN issued a statement:

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

For all those about free speech, perhaps you should revisit the Constitution. Employers reserve the right to pretty much do whatever they want. And this time, Schilling won’t survive his idiocy.

Hardball Talk’s Craig Calcaterra summed it up perfectly:

Schilling has constantly defended his behavior in this regard as a matter of his personal beliefs, but when one’s personal beliefs are in direct contradiction of your employer’s values and when you cease to heed your employer’s warnings to cease making public comments, you are eventually going to be fired. And if there is any doubt that Schilling’s beliefs conflicted with his employer’s, ESPN’s statement this evening regarding the firing put that to rest:
 
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A person hired to be a sports commentator can, with caution and care, wade into public matters. Many do. But the reckless and offensive way Schilling did and his repeated violation of his employer’s orders in this regard made his position untenable. And now one of the best pitchers of his generation is out of a job.

I don’t know. You’d think Schilling would be smarter than this given his track record. Actually, I guess you wouldn’t. I wonder if he’ll still have his weekly spot on the Mike Missanelli Show on 97.5 after this?