It’s rare for even a week to go by without a professional athlete being heaped with praise for espousing far-left political beliefs.

As the popularity of failed athletes like Colin Kaepernick has grown, so too have their bank accounts thanks to the media and liberal overlords of large corporations.

But when an athlete expresses their conservative points-of-view, like this former MLB legend, they’re apparently forced to relocate their families.

When Curt Schilling retired from baseball, he was considered one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history, particularly in the postseason thanks to his MLB record .846 postseason winning percentage.

He also recorded more than 3,000 strikeouts, ranked fifth all-time in career strikeout to walk ratio, recorded the third most 300-strikeout seasons of all-time, was a six-time All-Star, three-time World Series champion, and World Series MVP.

And while his entire career proved him to be one of the all-time greats, his four seasons with the Red Sox made him a legend, particularly in Boston.

Obviously, winning two World Series championships in four years will always endear a player to a fan base, but Schilling achieved a level of legendary status in Boston few other athletes could ever obtain.

With the Red Sox trailing their rivals, the New York Yankees, three games to one in the American League Championship Series, Schilling overcame a torn tendon in his ankle that caused blood to soak through his sock, and heroically took the mound in game six.

He went on to pitch seven complete innings in that “bloody sock game,” giving up just four hits and one earned run, leading the Red Sox to the win, and ultimately a few weeks later, their first World Series championship since 1918.

All that’s to say, if there’s any city on planet earth that should worship Curt Schilling, it’s Boston, Massachusetts.

And for many years, that was the case – until Schilling began speaking openly about the fact that he was a conservative, of course.

Now, he’s been forced to move his family away from Boston, and to a more welcoming, happier place – Tennessee.

“Outside of our circle of friends, it hasn’t been a real pleasant experience in Boston,’’ Schilling said in an interview. “So we’re just trying to find a place to live out our lives with happiness with people that are nice, and Tennessee is it.’’

The same far-left culture in Boston that loves politicians like Elizabeth Warren, Ted Kennedy, and Mitt Romney, a culture that preaches about tolerance, simply could not tolerate someone like Schilling being a conservative.

Of course, Boston is known as one of the most racist cities in sports, with many allegations of the N-word being hurled routinely at opposing players, so maybe no one should be surprised by the way they treat people they disagree with.

While the far-left complains that conservatives aren’t “open minded,” they spat on a local sports hero simply because they weren’t “open minded” enough to tolerate his political opinions in a nation that’s supposed to cherish free speech.

It’s unfortunate that Schilling was forced to move his family to avoid this kind of abuse, but at least he’s now in a place where the people know how to treat one another, even if they disagree.

Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.