Written by Don Byrd
Former Fox Sports analyst and U.S. Senate candidate Craig James believes he was fired for his religious views. In his campaign, he expressed his beliefs that, essentially, homosexuality is a sin. Fox deemed him a bad fit and ended his employment. He says a lawsuit is coming.
The Houston Chronicle reports:
Liberty Institute, a non-profit law firm based in Plano that specializes in religious freedom cases, on Tuesday notified the network it will commence legal proceedings on James’ behalf later this week if the network does not rehire the former NFL running back and Republican senatorial candidate as a college football analyst.
James made one appearance on FSSW in late August before he was told that he would not return to the air. The network said in a statement Tuesday that James “was not a good fit for Fox Sports” and “is a polarizing figure in the college sports community.”
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment decisions based on religion. Should a broadcaster be able to dismiss on-air personalities for being polarizing figures when that characterization is based on the public airing of religious views? Should Fox be required to re-hire Mr. James? Stay tuned.
