Curt Schilling: ESPN employs ‘some of the biggest racists in sports commentating’

Curt Schilling was fired by ESPN last week more or less because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. So he sure as heck isn’t going to do so now that he no longer works for the network.

“Some of the most racist things I’ve ever heard have come out of people that are on the air at ESPN,� Schilling said on SiriusXM radio’s “Breitbart News Patriot Forum� recorded Wednesday and broadcast Thursday morning. “They’re some of the biggest racists in sports commentating.�

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

The outspokenly conservative Schilling had been a commentator on ESPN’s “Monday Night Baseball� until last week, when he posted a controversial meme on Facebook interpreted by many to be anti-transgender. Schilling said during Wednesday’s interview that he was simply making a commentary on the “functionality of men’s and women’s bathrooms.�

Last year Schilling was dropped from ESPN’s coverage of the Little League World Series and then suspended for the rest of the Major League Baseball season for tweeting a meme that compared Muslims to Nazis.

In March, Schilling appeared to have violated ESPN’s guidelines for election coverage by stating during a radio interview that Hillary Clinton “should be buried under a jail somewhere.�

“The memo that went out to everybody went out to all of us the same, which is: If you are a sports person stick to sports, don’t get involved in the political arena,� Schilling said during the SiriusXM interview.

“In the end, for me it felt like that rule applied to me and me alone because I was conservative .... Bigots are calling me a bigot. A bigot is someone who refuses to accept a different opinion. I will accept anyone’s opinion.�

Newsday, which was on hand for the interview, later asked Schilling to clarify some of his comments:

“The memo that was sent out more than once was about they wanted on-air talent to focus on sports. To me that means ‘focus on sports unless you want to talk about something that is part of the liberal agenda.’

“You listen to Stephen A. Smith, and Stephen A. Smith was the guy who said that Robert Griffin didn’t play quarterback for the Redskins because he’s black. No, Robert Griffin didn’t play quarterback for the Redskins because he [stunk].

“... Tony Kornheiser compared the tea party to ISIS [Islamic State]. I don’t know any planet where those are sports topics. But I don’t care. It’s OK. I think those conversations need to happen. But as soon as you go to the flip side, the right side, there are repercussions for not talking about sports.�

MORE FROM SPORTS

Cities with anti-LGBT laws can’t host NCAA tournament events anymore

Manny Pacquiao responds to reported kidnap plot: ‘I have no fear. God is with me’

What will $500 million get you in Vegas? Raiders owner Mark Davis hopes it’s a home for his team