Curt Schilling says he's leaving Boston after 14 years to find 'people that are nice'
After 14 years, Curt Schilling is saying goodbye to Boston.
The former Boston Red Sox pitcher, who has lived about 30 miles outside of Boston since 2007, told USA Today on Thursday that he and his family are leaving the city behind and moving to Tennessee just as soon as his wife Shonda has finished receiving treatment for breast cancer.
“She’s battling,’’ Schilling said of his wife. “It kind of came out of nowhere. So she’s finished her chemo, she’s halfway through radiation. We’re moving to Tennessee when her radiation is done.’’
Schilling, who was part of the 2004 Red Sox team that ended the city's 86-year World Series drought, didn't get very specific about why he's leaving, but he did give a vague reason.
“Outside of our circle of friends, it hasn’t been a real pleasant experience in Boston,’’ Schilling told USA Today. “So we’re just trying to find a place to live out our lives with happiness with people that are nice, and Tennessee is it.’’
Schilling has surrounded himself with controversy
Why hasn't it been "pleasant" in Boston for Schilling? His extreme right wing rhetoric might have something to do with it. He's been highly criticized for his anti-transgender comments (which got him fired from ESPN in 2016), his collection of Nazi memorabilia, and his posts on social media. On Twitter, he's posted Islamophobic tweets (in which he compared Muslims to Nazis), tweets in support of lynching journalists, and he publicly supported the Jan. 6 terroristic riots at the U.S. Capitol.
It certainly seems like Schilling is saying he's packing up his family because the passionate, hearty people of Boston and the surrounding areas weren't "nice" to him. As to whether Schilling has considered the part his words and actions have played in that, the answer is probably no, but we'll never know for sure.
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