In case you haven't heard, Curt Schilling, an ESPN analyst was fired last week. With three World Series rings, 200-plus wins, 3,000+ strikeouts, and most likely on his way to the Hall of Fame, he was one heck of pitcher, to say the least, but I will say more.
He has made many comments that have attracted negative press. And yes, there such a thing as negative press. Be careful what you put on Facebook. If you are in the professional world, at all, do not say anything on your social media that you would not say in front of a conference of your top 10 idols.
“A man is a man no matter what they call themselves. 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.” -Curt Schilling
Statements like this should not be made public. It would be rainbows and glitter if they were not said at all, but that is not the world we live in today. Most of us our very opinionated, public and social, yet it is a daily struggle for those fighting for equality and acceptance.
"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"- who said it?
I think we all know some people that should take this advice, I know my sister wanted to punch me in the face after quoting Thumper a few times. This doesn't mean to keep your opinions to yourself, but feel free to keep the mean and judgmental opinions to yourself.
How are we supposed to make the world a better place with comments like Schilling?
Words can hurt.
They can cause people pain, lead to self-harm or even suicide.
You could be thinking, well it's not that bad, a man is a man, but it should be said this is not the first time Schilling made a chilling comment. There have been many comments relating to xenophobia, homophobia and racism.
ESPN has been criticized, yelling, “freedom of speech!” and that Schilling being fired is an example of our forever increasing “politically correct culture.”
I do believe in freedom of speech, however, I also believe we should refrain from comments that are hurtful.
In the case of ESPN, this is negative press, and if you want good pr, this is not the type of press one aims for. Yes, "Freedom of speech!" However, ESPN is not a government agency, it is a private organization and Freedom of speech applies to the government allowing its citizens to say what they want without consequence.
You may still think the comment isn't worth being fired over, but you may have second thoughts if he was on your payroll of one of the largest watched networks.
Is the statement controversial? without a doubt.
ESPN made a good PR move, and I have a theory.
I bet somewhere in that contract with ESPN, it says to shy from controversial statements on social media.
I back up this theory with evidence.
Remember that string of domestic violence incidents last year? Bill Simmons and Keith Olbermann were canned after criticizing the NFL for not doing enough.
Even though I am completely against domestic violence, this goes to show, if you ever get signed with ESPN, try not to have any opinions, or at least, try not to say them out loud, hence why I do not work for ESPN, that being the only reason.
