Here's a deeply bleak sentence: This week on his Outkick podcast, Curt Schilling insensitively broke the news that both former teammate Tim Wakefield and his wife have cancer, and now many people are mad at him.
Halfway through Tuesday's episode of Schilling's baseball show, following a discussion of the AL East, the former pitcher switched topics and shared his best wishes for his old Red Sox teammate. Schilling noted that while "this is not a message that Tim has asked anyone to share," he said he felt he needed to disclose it anyway because "as a Christian and as a man of faith, I have seen prayer work."
Schilling said that he had a phone call with Doug Mirabelli, who during his Red Sox career worked as the personal catcher for Wakefield, and learned that Tim Wakefield was "diagnosed with a very serious, very aggressive form of brain cancer," while also mentioning that Stacy Wakefield was "very sick with pancreatic cancer."
"And if they didn't want this to be public, I sincerely apologize, but I do believe that a gigantic, worldwide Red Sox Nation group hug and prayers is warranted for this one," Schilling said, mentioning that he stays in touch with Wakefield occasionally. But Tim and Stacy did not want their health issues to be revealed, and if they did, it likely would've been delivered through a different messenger than a conspiracy enthusiast, transphobe, and collector of certain memorabilia from 1930s Germany. Shortly after Schilling's comments drew attention—not on the Outkick YouTube channel, where it has triple-digit views—the Red Sox released a statement on behalf of the Wakefield family:
We are aware of the statements and inquiries about the health of Tim and Stacy Wakefield. Unfortunately, this information has been shared publicly without their permission. Their health is a deeply personal matter they intended to keep private as they navigate treatment and work to tackle this disease. Tim and Stacy are appreciative of the support and love that has always been extended to them and respectfully ask for privacy at this time.
Another member of Red Sox Nation was far more direct. Catherine Varitek, the wife of former Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, tweeted, "Fuck you Curt Schilling, that wasn’t your place!"
This mess has temporarily drawn Schilling's attention away from his usual online activity, which recently involved resharing an explanation of the "Jewish Question." It'd be to the benefit of everyone else if there was a way to permanently shut off this guy's internet access.
