Report: Curt Schilling's Capitol Tweets Have Some HOF Voters Rethinking Ballots

Scott Polacek @@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 16, 2012, file photo, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, center, is followed by members of the media as he departs the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation headquarters, in Providence, R.I. Wells Fargo Securities has agreed to pay an $800,000 civil penalty to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit over Rhode Island's failed $75 million deal with Schilling's 38 Studios video game company. Wells Fargo and the SEC announced the proposed settlement in filings with the U.S. District Court in Providence on Monday, March 18,2019. A federal judge must approve it. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Steven Senne/Associated Press

Curt Schilling has expressed support for the idea of lynching journalists, was fired by ESPN for posting an offensive meme about transgender rights and has been a source of controversy a number of times since he retired, but at least one Baseball Hall of Fame voter reportedly saw his support for the pro-Donald Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol as the last straw.

On Thursday, Matt Spiegel of 670 The Score in Chicago reported "numerous" voters reached out to the Hall in an attempt to change their votes for Schilling after he supported the mob on social media. Jon Heyman of MLB Network later reported that it was only one voter who asked to amend their ballot, but that request was denied.

Spiegel noted there are "integrity, sportsmanship and character" clauses on the guidelines for Hall of Fame voting.

The mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an effort to stop the certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory over Trump. Five people, including a U.S. Capitol police officer, died in the ensuing chaos.

Schilling supported the actions of the mob on social media in a number of tweets (h/t the Arizona Republic).

✨ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content

This is far from the first time Schilling, who was a vocal supporter of Trump during the latter's tenure as president of the United States, has found himself at the center of controversy.

Jesse Yomtov of USA Today summarized some of the most notable incidents, including when ESPN took him off a Little League World Series broadcast because he posted a graphic on social media equating Muslims with Nazis and then ultimately fired him for posting an offensive meme about transgender rights.

Schilling also deemed a shirt advocating for the lynching of journalists "awesome," regularly spread conspiracy theories about Bill and Hillary Clinton and reportedly collected Nazi memorabilia.

He has not been elected to the Hall of Fame despite winning three World Series and being named to six All-Star Games during a career that lasted from 1988 through 2007 and included stops on the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox.