A former professional baseball player and baseball analyst on the American sports television network ESPN has been fired for a negative post on Facebook about transgender people.
A statement from the network said “Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable.”
The former Boston Red Sox pitcher reposted an image of an overweight man dressed up as a woman. It included a caption that read “Let him in! To the restroom with your daughter or else you’re a narrow minded, judgmental, unloving, racist bigot who needs to die!!!”
Schilling added his own comment:“A man is a man no matter what they call themselves” and “Now you need laws telling us differently? Pathetic.”
The post comes amid a growing controversy over laws in some states that restrict public bathroom access to transgender people.
Appearing on WEEI radio, Schilling defended his views.
“To be in a place where people actually believe I’m a racist or I’m transphobic says to me that something has gone horribly askew somewhere,” he said.
This is not the first time Schilling’s comments have gotten him in trouble.
Last August he posted a tweet comparing radical Muslims to Nazis.