WASHINGTON – Former college football broadcaster Craig James has joined the conservative Family Research Council, where he says he’ll fight the kind of “religious bigotry” he blames for his firing by Fox Sports after expressing opposition to gay marriage.
James, who will serve as an assistant to council President Tony Perkins, was a longtime color commentator for ESPN. He quit to run for the U.S. Senate two years ago in Texas, where he grew up and starred at SMU. James finished fourth in the Republican primary.
During a campaign debate, James said he opposed gay marriage and that gay people would one day “have to answer to the Lord for their actions.”
Fox Sports let him go, saying he was a “polarizing figure” who had “abused a previous on-air position to further a personal agenda.” James has filed a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission accusing Fox of violating his religious freedom.
