The renown baseball pitcher Curt Schilling, turned ESPN commentator, found out the hard way that his free speech rights protect him from retaliation from the government but not his employer. ESPN fired him after he announced on air his support for North Carolina’s transgender law that bars individuals from using public restrooms that don’t jibe with their biological sex. His role as baseball analyst did not prevent him from routinely expressing conservative views on politics and social issues. (York Dispatch, April 27, 2016, by editorial staff)
Presidential candidate Ted Cruz and conservative news outlets expressed their support for Schilling. The Wall Street Journal led the rebuttal by noting that his firing was “an example of political correctness run amok.” The Daily Caller said ESPN commentator Tony Kornheiser had made outlandish liberal positions without getting the boot. (Sporting News, April 25, 2016, by Michael McCarthy)