Legendary MLB pitcher Curt Schilling is sounding off against his former employer ESPN after the sports network apparently edited Schilling's historic "bloody sock" performance out of a documentary on the 2004 American League Championship Series.
The 2010 documentary “Four Days in October," which re-aired Sunday night, focused on the Boston Red Sox comeback against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS championship game. Schilling was a pitcher for the Red Sox at the time and helped the team not only win the division series but also go on to take the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Among the iconic photos from the series was a photo of Schilling's foot on the mound during Game 6, blood seeping through his sock as he bends over to tend to his injury.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling tends to his right ankle during the third inning of Game 6 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees Oct. 19, 2004, in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
But Schilling, who was recently fired from ESPN after posting on social media what the network deemed as "completely unacceptable" comments on Muslims and transgender individuals, was missing from the most recent airing of the documentary.
It didn't take long for viewers to notice the absence.
ESPN2 is currently showing 4 Days in October. They skipped the game 6 part (Curt Schilling bloody sock). Guess who ESPN recently fired
— Falan Garner (@falandownawell) May 1, 2016
"ESPN2 is currently showing 4 Days in October. They skipped the game 6 part," one viewer tweeted.
Was watching 30 for 30 about Red Sox '04 against the Yankees: ESPN Edited out ALL of Game 6!
— Brendan Greeley (@BrendanMGreeley) May 1, 2016
No Bloody Sock, No A-Rod "Running"#ESPNLies
"Was watching 30 for 30 about Red Sox '04 against the Yankees: ESPN Edited out ALL of Game 6," another wrote.
Schilling himself, upon hearing of the incident, took to Twitter to air his thoughts. He even seemed to fault ESPN, at least in part, for a federal court ruling that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's "deflate gate" suspension should be reinstated.
Wow, full one year complete fabrication to defame greatest QB, now omitting about 4 hours of a game I think I played in. Hmm #integritymuch?
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) May 2, 2016
"Wow, full one year complete fabrication to defame greatest QB, now omitting about 4 hours of a game I think I played in. Hmm," Schilling tweeted.
Schilling later tweeted, "Btw, please don't make me victim. You saw it, I lived it, still got the ring. This is what happens when you embarrass powerful people. And ... Nothing more. It's why we are where we are at as a people and as a nation. Time to change that."
Btw, please don't make me victim. You saw it, I lived it, still got the ring. This is what happens when you embarrass powerful people. And
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) May 2, 2016
Nothing more. It's why we are where we are at as a people and as a nation. Time to change that #standup
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) May 2, 2016
ESPN denied editing out Schilling's performance because of its recent firing of the former pitcher. Instead, a network representative claimed it had to cut the segment due to a live softball game, which had aired before the documentary, running long.
“When a live event runs long, it’s standard procedure to shorten a taped program that follows,” an ESPN spokesman told the Washington Post. “In this case, we needed to edit out one of the film’s four segments to account for the extra length of the softball game.”
(H/T: Washington Post)
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