Schilling: Stephen A. Smith is a 'racist' and 'bigot'

One day after being challenged to debate the merits of his departure from ESPN, Curt Schilling fired back at Stephen A. Smith with explosive accusations, calling his former colleague a "racist" and "bigot."

On Saturday, Smith challenged the former major-league pitcher to a debate after Schilling accused ESPN of being racist and having a "liberal agenda." Schilling made the comments shortly after the network fired him for sharing an anti-transgender post on Facebook last month.

"Let me speak up on behalf of ESPN when I say this to Curt Schilling: ... You are gone not because you have conservative views instead of liberal views. Your ass is gone because you did not want to listen," Smith said during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Mad Dog Radio" show. "ESPN tells me to shut up, they're my employer whether I like it or not. If I want to keep my job, I've got to shut the hell up."

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Smith went on to suggest the two meet face-to-face to argue their positions, a challenge Schilling shot down Wednesday in explosive fashion.

"What am I going to debate about? I have no interest," Schilling said on WEEI’s "Dennis and Callahan" show. "I'm 49 years old. I have had cancer, I've had a heart attack, I'm losing my hair. I'm not going to waste my time with people I don't respect. I don't respect him. I think he's a racist, I think he's a bigot. There's nothing to debate, No. 1., and No. 2, there's not a chance in hell that I would do anything that would bring that station another viewer, ever."