Curt Schilling calls Stephen A. Smith 'racist,' rejects debate invite

Un-pop that popcorn, sports fans, because the debate of the century isn’t going to happen. Former ESPN employee Curt Schilling declined Stephen A. Smith’s invitation to engage in a war of words, saying, among other things, that he doesn’t respect Smith.

In an interview with WEEI’s "Dennis and Callahan," Schilling turned down Smith’s challenge, saying he has no respect for Smith. Schilling also added that he believes his former colleague is a racist and a bigot.

Here’s the relevant portion of Schilling interview, which has been transcribed by Awful Announcing:

“What am I going to debate about? I have no interest,” Schilling said. “I’m 49 years old. I have had cancer, I’ve had a heart attack, I’m losing my hair. I’m not going to waste my time with people I don’t respect.”

“I don’t respect him. I think he’s a racist, I think he’s a bigot,” Schilling added of Smith. “There’s nothing to debate, No. 1., and No. 2, there’s not a chance in hell that I would do anything that would bring that station another viewer, ever.”

Wow! That escalated quickly.

Smith issued the challenge during an interview on SiriusXM. On the “Mad Dog Radio” show, Smith called out Schilling for bashing ESPN after he was fired by the company for posting a transphobic meme on his Facebook page. He said the former pitcher wasn’t fired for having conservative views, but because he refused to listen to his bosses. Schilling has said he believes his political affiliation played a role in his firing.

Smith didn’t pull any punches with his criticism of Schilling, but he also didn’t get personal. Schilling came out and called Smith a “racist” and a “bigot.” Those are some awfully big allegations that shouldn’t be made lightly.

The situation is reminiscent of a classic wrestling feud. Both wrestlers trash each other over a series of interviews, building anticipation for an eventual meeting in the ring. In this case, both of our participants are heels, and the main event is never going to happen.

With that said, it will be interesting to see if this goes any farther. Smith may be tempted to defend himself after Schilling’s remark, but ESPN would probably prefer their personalities to ignore Schilling.

In his SiriusXM interview, Smith said he would listen to the company if they told him to shut up. One imagines that declaration might be tested in the coming weeks.