ESPN fires legendary pitcher over transphobic remarks

By Austin Stallings
Journalism Intern

Former Major League Baseball pitcher, Curt Schilling has been fired by ESPN after sharing this controversial image on his Facebook account.

The former analyst shared the photo but later deleted it.

Schilling is a three time World Series champion, and a member of the 3,000 strike-club, he retired from baseball in 2009 after 20 years in the MLB.

“A man is a man no matter what they call themselves,” Schilling commented on the post, which he apparently said in response to a recent North Carolina law that restricts transgender people’s access to bathrooms and locker rooms. “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 released late Wednesday, ESPN said: “ESPN is an inclusive company. Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated.”

On his blog, Schilling said he did not post the photo: “This latest brew ha ha is beyond hilarious. I didn’t post that ugly looking picture. I made a comment about the basic functionality of mens and womens restrooms, period.”

At the time of his termination, Schilling worked on the Monday Night Baseball broadcast.

The Gayly 4/21/16 @ 4:32 p.m CDT