ESPN bans Twitter use for baseball writer who defended evolution

Keith Law gets into a Twitter debate with former pitcher Curt Schilling on the subject of evolution vs. creationism. ESPN confirms Law's Twitter use has been suspended but won't say why.

ESPN/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

Is there a modern-day Galileo in the sporting world's midst?

Is there a man who fights for science against the forces of tradition and is prepared to take any risk imaginable?

I only ask because of disturbing rumbles that ESPN has prohibited one of its baseball writers, Keith Law, from using Twitter.

A report on Deadspin suggests the sanction stems from Law's defense of evolution against the creationist views of former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling. This defense occurred in the extremely evolved social environment of Twitter.

Schilling also works for ESPN. He recently took to Twitter to air his strong views in favor of the whole world being the creation of one God. His tweets included: 'Show me ONE fossil, ANWHERE [sic] in the world that is a 'miss,' a creature in between two creatures as it evolved? Doesn't exist.'

Law responded with quite a few tweets, among which was: 'Seriously, if someone says evolution is wrong because there aren't fossils between monkeys and men, find a monkey and hit him with it.'

He also offered that there are hundreds of transitional fossils and helpfully tendered Schilling a link to a Wikipedia page entitled ' List of Transitional Fossils.'

By this stage, perhaps, this seemed like a scene from 'Bull Durham 2.'

Law, though normally a frequent tweeter, disappeared from Twitter on November 19. ESPN has confirmed it disappeared him, but it insisted in a statement to Awful Announcing: 'Keith's Twitter suspension had absolutely nothing to do with his opinions on the subject (of evolution).'

Those of hardened minds might parse this statement as a technicality, one that really means: 'We don't like to see two our of employees arguing in public on a subject that is so politically polarizing.'

I contacted ESPN to ask whether it truly believes that Derek Jeter is God. No, wait, I asked whether the company could offer the length of Law's suspension and the true reasons for it. After all, in suspending employees such as Bill Simmons, ESPN has been forthcoming as to the precise reasons. I will update, should I hear.

Law has continued to post to Facebook. Perhaps Schilling isn't a fan there.

Oddly, Schilling has not been suspended and continues to tweet on many a sporting, political and religious subject.

It isn't just those in sports who worry where we all came from and what might or might not be beyond us. Recently, Stephen Hawking made clear that he believes there is enough science now to disprove the existence of God.

For his part, before his suspension Law replied fiercely to a Twitter critic who suggested he stick to baseball: 'No, I won't. Science is infinitely more important.'

Oh, I don't know. In sports, you always know who won.