Former MLB pitcher and host of ‘Whatever It Takes’ Curt Schilling called into The Larry O’Connor Show Monday afternoon to discuss the political nature of the Super Bowl, the Hall of Fame and his anticipated Senate run against Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Schilling discussed the political atmosphere of Boston, Massachusetts:
Larry O’Connor: What’s with all the politics being injected into this? We can’t even watch a football game anymore Curt?
Curt Schilling: No, No. Well only because it was a conservative. If Tom Brady had come out and said Nancy Pelosi was the sexiest woman on earth, he would have been the greatest quarterback in history whether they won or not.
O’Connor: [laughs]
Schilling: But I’ll tell you what’s going to be fascinating. I don’t know if you remember a couple years back, Tim Thomas carried the Bruins to a Stanley Cup. And it was on his back. And he refused to go to the White House and he is now like Voldemort – he who is not to be mentioned – here in Boston. I heard a couple Patriots talk about not going to the White House last night it’s going to be very curious to see how the fans treat them. Because you know exactly what’s going to happen. They are going to be lauded for taking a stand and being good people and standing for virtue and continuing to reinforce this prejudice and intolerance that only goes one way.
And here’s the difference. The difference is I don’t care. I didn’t care if Tim went and I don’t care if he [Martellus Bennett] goes. I enjoyed the football game. He has his own political beliefs. I like the fact that that he has a spine to stand up for the things he believes in. But it doesn’t matter to me it doesn’t affect my day to day life. So why would I care.
Schilling also shared his perception of the political ideology of Boston sports fans:
O’Connor: I got to think that your typical Red Sox fan, your typical Patriots fan, your typical Bruins and Celtics fan, you know they are blue collared guys, they are union guys, they probably lean to the right. Is there some sort of disconnect there with what we are seeing?
Schilling: Yes absolutely. I’ve said it repeatedly. As I talk about potentially running for Senate and running against ‘Lieawatha’ , I’ve talked about the fact that the population in this state does not match the politics.
O’Connor: I just want to be clear, when you mention Hiawatha you mean Senator Elizabeth Warren, do you not?
Schilling: I actually said ‘Lieawatha’.
O’Connor: Oh ‘Lieawatha’ even better. I missed that.
Schilling: No I’m kidding. I’m kidding obviously but yeah I don’t believe…This is a blue collar state. When you look at the coast of Boston and the fishing industry and you look at the towns and the cities, this is a blue collar state. There is no way that the fishermen on Cape Cod are Elizabeth Warren fans. She represents everything we hate about politics.
Schilling also addressed being passed up as a Hall of Fame nominee:
O’Connor: I’m going to call you ‘Future Hall of Famer Curt Schilling’ because it’s going to happen. But I got to ask you about this. It sort of came down about a month ago, where you did not make the ballot again this year, you didn’t get voted in for the Hall of Fame. And you specifically said, ‘this is because of my politics’. Have you heard from some of these writers – we all know that most sports writers are all to the left of Joe Stalin – they are all liberals, all you have to do is watch ESPN, look at Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon and their politics. Have you heard specifically from some of these writers who say, ‘yeah, we’re not going to vote for you because of your politics’?
Schilling: At the end of the day, I’ve said this time and time again. If the people that vote on the Hall of Fame, don’t think I deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, that doesn’t change my life. I was the only person on the ballot to actually lose votes from last year. I didn’t pitch. I didn’t lose a game. I didn’t give up any home runs, but I get it. And that’s why I said since the day this process began, I’ve never ever given it a second thought outside of when the process happens, because I have no control. I learned very early on in my career, that the men and women that vote for that, many of them use their ballot as a platform to create content. They make themselves apart of the story, as opposed to just writing the story. And that’s what’s happening in the media, so. I honest to God. Here’s the thing, when I go and I start hopefully go to heaven, it will just be another thing I won’t be able to take with me if I get it. You know I have my rings I have my trophies, more importantly I have my memories and my friendships. So they aren’t voting on any of that so I’m fine.
[…]
This is exactly the difference in liberals and conservatives. I don’t need my government to step in and create a law that makes the writers treat me fairly. I’m a big boy, I’ll get over it. It’s the real world. Unfortunately, the liberals in this world, the millennials especially – not all of them obviously- they think the world should legally be fair. That’s the only way you can come up with everyone has a right to live here. No one has a right to live here. Living here is a privilege. But it’s a generation full of people who believe they are entitled to things that they don’t believe they should have to work for.
Lastly, Schilling discussed his plans to run for a Senate seat against Sen. Elizabeth Warren:
O’Connor: When are you making your final decision about the Senate run?
Schilling: You know what? She is doing a perfectly good job of executing herself right now. She really is. One of the things that I talked about with my wife is that when you declare early a lot of times to get your name out there and to get that name recognition. I don’t really need to do that here. And why would I spend money or raise money for a campaign she’s running for me right now? Every time she opens her mouth, I get more votes.
