The Boston Red Sox invited seven key members of the 2004 World Series championship team to throw out the opening pitch for Game 2 on Wednesday. It was a who’s-who of the 2004 Red Sox team, with Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz and others.
Yet amongst those invited was not pitcher Curt Schilling, he of bloody sock lore.
It might be understandable, given Schilling has in the last few years engaged in political commentary that has been branded racist, sexist, Islamophobic and transphobic. In 2016 Schilling got canned by ESPN after Schilling posted a grotesque image that he said represented transgender women simply wanting to use a restroom.
Yet the Red Sox reportedly said in a statement that they were not NOT inviting Schilling “out of spite.” Somehow, I guess, his invitation got lost in the mail despite him living in New England.
In 2012, before he said a bunch of these things, he Red Sox certainly did welcome him back to Fenway, inducting him into the franchise’s Hall of Fame.
The Red Sox have a long history of supporting the LGBTQ community, most recently with a $200k check for Fenway Health, which largely serves the local LGBTQ community. So it’s understandable why they would not want the face of transphobia in baseball throwing out an opening pitch.
