Jared Wickerham/Getty ImagesCurt Schilling.
Two weeks after Curt Schilling was fired by ESPN for comments made on social media, he is continuing his assault on the sports-media giant.
Schilling was a guest on “The Dan Patrick Show” to discuss his firing and accused the company of being “bigoted and intolerant” toward people who are not liberals or Democrats.
“The only irony in this for me is that a company that is outwardly bigoted and intolerant is calling itself inclusive,” Schilling told Dan Patrick.
When asked to explain his comments, Schilling discussed a memo that was sent out to ESPN employees asking them not to discuss politics and how other on-air personalities were not being disciplined for comments that appeared to be anti-Republican or anti-conservative:
They sent out memos, “Listen, we want our sports people on-air talent to stick to sports, stay away from politics and the other stuff.’ … The next thing, Stephen A. Smith tells the world Robert Griffin can’t play quarterback for the Redskins because he is black, not because he sucks, which it was because he sucks. Then you got [Dan] Le Batard and you got Tony Kornheiser comparing the Tea Party to ISIS. So, I think what the memo meant to say was “If you’re not liberal and you’re not a Democrat, do not stray from sports.” … The other thing that really jumped out at me was, people would talk, you know the green room where everybody hangs out. It’s the ESPN version of the locker room. A lot of times people would be like, they would come up to me and whisper, “Hey man, I’m with ya, I’m a Republican,” as if we were the secret card-carrying members of some group that couldn’t be, that “those who shall not be named.” The inclusiveness is inclusive as long as you are pointing in the same direction.
Schilling confirmed to Patrick that he was making $2.5 million per year at ESPN.
He later seemed to attempt to justify his comments by asking Patrick, “Have you ever known me to sit back and think, ‘Well, wait. Before I say this, let me measure it out and make sure it will be received in the way it should be received?’ I’m not a measured speaker. I never have been.”
The implication is that ESPN should have known that Schilling would occasionally have strong opinions, noting that he is known to say things “that went against the grain” and that that is why they hired him.
Schilling was fired after he shared a Facebook post in response to the North Carolina law that bars transgender people from using bathrooms that do not correspond to their birth gender.
He had previously been suspended by ESPN for posting a meme on Twitter that read, “It’s said only 5-10% of Muslims are extremists. In 1940, only 7% of Germans were Nazis. How’d that go?”
At the time, Schilling accepted his suspension, tweeting “100% my fault,” and calling it a bad choice.
This is not the first time Schilling has attacked the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports. Shortly after being fired, Schilling appeared on “Breitbart News Patriot Forum” for Sirius XM and criticized the culture at ESPN, saying that it had “some of the biggest racists” on air.
After firing Schilling, ESPN said in 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.”
It is clear after the latest segment that Schilling has no plans to let up. Here is the segment:
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