Fire Curt Schilling

This is it.

It's been a long time coming, but Curt Schilling has finally accomplished his goal. For months, maybe years, Curt Schilling has been looking for a way to get ESPN to fire him and allow himself to play the victim. He's finally done it.

As Outsports reported earlier today, Schilling posted the following on his controversial Facebook page (which I won't link to):

It is beyond vile and disgusting in its attempt to dehumanize transgendered people and in supporting the ginned up issue of keeping "men" out of restrooms used by women and girls (funny, that nobody worries about the men and boys who would "have" to pee with women, despite the fact that trans women are at greater risk of sexual assault than any other group in America).

And as Outsports pointed out, Schilling doubled down and reaffirmed the message of his posting:

"A man is a man no matter what they call themselves," Schilling wrote on Facebook. "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"

This is nowhere near the first time Curt Schilling has gotten in trouble. There was the time he seemed to call for police escalation in Ferguson following the death of Michael Brown. There was the time he compared Muslims to Germans in the 1930s and 1940s, allowing the Nazis to rise, for which he was suspended. There was the time he kind of, sort of wished Hilary Clinton would be murdered and buried under a prison. And now there's this.

His rhetoric has steadily and calculatedly gotten more and more strident and offensive since 2014. There is little doubt that this has been a deliberate effort on Schilling's part as he either enjoys chafing at the restrictions placed on him by his employer or seeks to be let go so that he can seek opportunity elsewhere and cloak himself in victimhood. But to do so, he has first openly and enthusiastically draped himself in outright bigotry. Whether he believes this in his heart or not, understand that this is not up for debate: He is racist, and homophobic, and transphobic. Curt Schilling is a bigot.

Schilling's postings and words stand in stark contrast to the positions of his employer. ESPN, and their parent company Disney, have worked hard to reach out to and support LGBTQ communities. Moreover, they have warned Schilling in the past about his hateful postings. There simply doesn't seem to be a place for Schilling at ESPN. And rightfully so.

Major League baseball has worked hard in recent years to move in a vastly different direction as well. The league has hired former Major League outfielder Billy Bean, who is gay, as its Ambassador for Inclusion. It has worked to ensure that Brewers minor leaguer David Denson has a supportive environment in which to try to make the majors. It is welcoming and recognizing LGBTQ fans at ballparks and is courting them as fans. Given how far the league has come, there is no place for Curt Schilling in Major League Baseball either.

That's why it's time for both to wave goodbye to Schilling. To rebuke his bigotry, and fire him publicly. The response must be swift and it must be unconditional. Neither entity should harbor his opinions, nor allow his words and his face to represent them publicly. For the good of both, Curt Schilling should be a pariah until he can demonstrate that he's changed.

Now, I don't expect Schilling to be out of work for long. For one thing, he will almost certainly quickly become a commentator on Fox News and Fox Sports One. He will go on Fox and Friends and talk about how he was wronged, and how his first amendment rights were being trampled. He'll be the darling of Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter and Sarah Palin. He'll still have his supporters, and may even someday run for office (good luck with that; maybe move to Arizona). But even if he does struggle, doesn't he deserve to?

In the real world, we are responsible for the things we say and the things we do. Curt Schilling never really has. He'll never repay his 38 Studios workers or the taxpayers of Rhode Island for his incompetence. His previous controversies have netted him a slap on the wrist that he jokes about when he donates to political crazy person Ben Carson.

Oh sure, he's lost money. But he's still on TV. He hasn't lost his home. Curt Schilling has received second chance after second chance. It's long past time for him to suffer some actual consequences. And those consequences should start with ESPN throwing this sentient pussbag who has never had to learn to respect people who are different from him as human beings out on his fat, bigoted ass. He is quite literally begging to be fired. Grant his wish, ESPN. Even if it doesn't change him, your broadcasts and our lives will all be better for it.