Sarah Palin defends former ESPN commentator over vile anti-trans ‘joke’
Failed Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has attacked ESPN for sacking a commentator who made vile anti-trans ‘jokes’ on Facebook.
Former baseball star Curt Schilling was sacked by ESPN for sharing a post misgendering trans people.
The former All-Star pitcher had been employed at ESPN for over six years, and had appeared on Monday Night Baseball.
Responding to the introduction of North Carolina’s anti-LGBT HB2, Schilling posted on Facebook a photo of an overweight man in a wig.
Accompanying the photo, suggesting that trans women are simply men in women’s clothing, it read: “LET HIM IN”.
The post went on: “LET HIM IN! to the restroom with your daughter or else you’re a narrow-minded, judgemental, unloving racist bigot who needs to die.”
Commenting on his own post Schilling wrote: “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.”
Former Alaska Governor Palin posted on Facebook herself to defend Schilling.
She wrote: “ESPN continues to screw up,” alongside a cartoon pretty much more offensive than Schilling’s original post.
Texas Governor Ted Cruz also took to the radio to defend Schilling, saying he was making a “rather obvious” and “rational” point.
Donald Trump in January got the highest honour possible in his US Presidential campaign – an endorsement from Palin.
The former governor of Alaska and staunch opponent of LGBT rights, who was the 2008 vice-presidential candidate, spoke at a campaign rally in Ames, Iowa.
Palin was John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 election until they lost to Obama.
A strong opponent of LGBT rights, she spoke in 2014 at the conference of a listed hate group that has compared same-sex marriage to the Holocaust – and got the address of the White House wrong during her speech.
In 2013, Palin admitted to defending a homophobic rant made by anti-gay Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson without actually reading his comments.
She was later attacked by singer Sia for sampling song Titanium without permission in a speech defending Robertson.
However, despite her numerous gaffes, Trump has indicated that he would consider appointing Palin to a high-profile role in his administration.
He told a radio host: “One of the things I most admire about her is that she took so much nonsense, lies and disgusting lies. She handles it so well. She’s tough and smart and just a great woman.
Palin last year claimed she has a “political crush” on an MP for France’s far-right National Front.
