Strike Out For Curt Schilling: ‘A Man Is A Man’ Comment On Transgender Bathroom Policy Gets ESPN Baseball Analyst Fired

This time he’s out.

ESPN has cut baseball commentator Curt Schilling from its roster for comments he made in support of North Carolina’s recently passed law requiring transgender people to use public restrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificates.

“ESPN is an inclusive company. Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated,” the Disney Company-owned sports network said in a curt announcement Wednesday evening.

The outspoken six-time All-Star and 2001 World Series MVP, who pitched for five Major League teams, 1988-2007, has worked for ESPN since 2010 and has been a regular sports analyst on the network’s “Monday Night Baseball” telecasts. While Schilling has long been candid with his opinions on social media, what finally got him ejected was a Facebook post on Monday about North Carolina’s so-called “bathroom bill.”

Schilling shared an image of a man in drag exposing his breasts, with a caption suggesting the law prevents men from preying on women in bathrooms. Schilling added his own comments calling opposition to the law “pathetic.”

“A man is a man no matter what they call themselves,” he wrote. “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.”

For months the network has tolerated Schilling’s remarks on his Twitter and Facebook feeds. In January ESPN released a companywide memo instructing its employees to “refrain from political editorializing, personal attacks or ‘drive-by’ comments.” It also said “guidelines on social media, acceptable commentary and political advocacy should prevail.”

Schilling -- who played for the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox -- has long been known for his right-leaning and conservative views. In August he posted a meme on his Twitter feed agreeing with the premise comparing as many as 1 in 10 Muslims to Nazis. Last month he overtly broke ESPN’s policy by calling for U.S. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton to be “buried under a jail.”