Craig James, who ran for the U.S. Senate Republican nomination against Ted Cruz, has sued Fox Sports after he was fired from his analyst position after just one day on the air.
During the Senate debates, James said he would never ride in a gay Pride parade, as the third contender for the nomination, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, had. He said during the debates that being gay is a choice.
Fox Sports said James said things that wouldn’t be appropriate in the workplace and called him a polarizing figure.
“We just asked ourselves how Craig’s statements would play in our human resources department,” Fox Sports southwest senior vice president of communications Lou D’Ermilio told the Dallas Morning News. “He couldn’t say those things here.”
James is represented by Plano-based Liberty Institute.
The lawsuit alleges that Fox Sports fired James for one reason only — his religious beliefs about marriage,” Liberty Institute wrote in a statement sent to Dallas Voice. “In so doing, Fox Sports violated the law, including the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA) and Texas contract law.”
“What Fox Sports has done to Craig James is inexcusable,” wrote Liberty Institute President Kelly Shackleford. “It’s also illegal. No one should be fired from their job because of their faith. This is the ultimate intolerance.”
Actually, we agree someone should not be fired for expressing their religious beliefs, but find it pretty ironic that if the word “faith” is replaced by “sexual orientation” or “gender identity,” Liberty Institute wouldn’t be defending anyone’s freedom.
James said nothing inappropriate on the air. Maybe Fox Sports should have looked into his background and decided he was polarizing before he was hired rather than after putting him on the air for one appearance. Hopefully no one from Fox added insult to injury by wishing James “Happy Holidays” rather than a “Merry Christmas.”
