Garbage person thankfully won't distract from Red Sox ceremony honoring 2004 champions

Ever since his playing career came to an end, Curt Schilling has been a controversial figure and has found himself in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Back in 2015, he was suspended from ESPN for making offensive social media posts. He was fired the following year for doing the same. Last fall, he also revealed that his former teammate Tim Wakefield had been suffering from brain cancer without Wakefield or his family's permission. Wakefield passed away days later, and his wife Stacy passed in February after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

However, the Boston Red Sox won't have to worry about Schilling being a distraction at their 20-year anniversary ceremony honoring their 2004 World Series club. Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe revealed that Schilling turned down the team's invitation to attend.

Curt Schilling will not attend 2004 Red Sox ceremony

Ultimately, Schilling not attending this ceremony is a good thing.

He has found himself in the news for all the wrong reasons in recent years, and it's very possible that his relationships in Boston have been strained by his actions.

Sadly, his actions do take away from what he was able to accomplish as a pitcher for the Red Sox. In 2004, he won Game 6 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees after undergoing surgery on his injured ankle. Due to blood soaking his sock, that game became known as the "Bloody Sock" game.

He dealt with the same issue in Game 2 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, but held the powerful Redbirds to one run over six innings as the Red Sox continued their march towards their first title since 1918.

Schilling also won Game 2 of the 2007 World Series against the Colorado Rockies; a series Boston also won.

The lives of Tim and Stacy Wakefield will both be honored at this ceremony as the Red Sox celebrate their 2004 ballclub. Fortunately, it should be a nice ceremony and one that won't be diminished by the presence of a controversial figure such as Schilling, as it is no secret he has not stayed on the organization's good side.