It was unlikely that a figure as outspoken as Curt Schilling was going to stay silent for long after ESPN fired him last week – but when the comeback came, it was extraordinary.
Schilling was dismissed from the network after sharing a transphobic post on Facebook but in an interview with the Breitbart News “patriot forum” on Thursday, hosted by Sirius XM, he accused ESPN of racism.
“It was apparent to me early on that if you wanted to go off topic as a sports person you had to go off topic left, or you were going to get in trouble,” he said. “Some of the most racist things I’ve ever heard have come out of people that are on the air at ESPN. They’re some of the biggest racists in sports commentating.”
Schilling, known for his provocative rightwing views, said he was also disturbed by the “liberal agenda” at the network. “The memo that was sent out more than once was about they wanted on air-talent to focus on sports,” he said. “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 [was bad].
“Tony Kornheiser compared the Tea Party to Isis. 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.”
Schilling added that, despite his Facebook post, he had no problem with transgender people. “My commentary around it was the functionality of men’s and women’s bathrooms,” he said.
He added that Hillary Clinton “should be in a maximum security prison”.
ESPN has not responded to Schilling’s comments.
