Those of us tuning in to the Little League World Series in Williamsport last week were denied the opportunity to hear the expert commentary of former major league pitcher Curt Schilling.

The reason? ESPN removed Schilling from the assignment because of a tweet he sent comparing Muslims to Nazi-era Germans. In the posting, he said, "Only 5-10 percent of Muslims are extremists. In 1940, only 7 percent of Germans were Nazis. How'd that go?"Schilling, who joined ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcast last year, quickly deleted the message from his Twitter feed but the sports network said his original posting was unacceptable."It sometimes takes decades and even centuries for our country to apologize or try to make amends for past cover-ups or shameful actions," the network stated.On that point we agree. In World War II, minority soldiers, such as the black Tuskegee airmen, the Japanese-Americans called nisei, and the Navajo Code Talkers, all performed heroically for our nation.The U.S. government ordered the internment of Japanese Americans in 1942, shortly after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.More than 110,000 Japanese-Americans, mostly on the West Coast, were forced into camps. While many of their parents or other relatives were being held in camps, the 442nd Regiment, made up entirely of nisei, became the most decorated unit in the history of American warfare. Of the 14,000 men who served in Europe, 9,486 of them received Purple Hearts.Schilling's supposed slur against Muslims doesn't come close to the injustices against these minorities in World War II. First, he wasn't speaking of all Muslims or all Germans.He was talking about the small percentage of radicalized groups within - the Muslim extremists like ISIS and the Nazis led by Adolf Hitler.Earlier this year, presidential candidate Rick Santorum used the same comparison.A few national figures rallied to Schilling's defense. "Clueless" star Stacey Dash, one of the few outspoken Hollywood conservatives, stated that the truth was on Schilling's side, and that ESPN actually owes him an apology."So, now we can't tweet things that are true?" Dash asked.Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin called the network's response "whimpering," adding that the difference between Hitler's army and the genocidal maniacs of ISIS is that the jihadists don't have as much power … yet."By denying the accuracy of Schilling's tweet, ESPN shows its weakness as it buys into the propaganda of ISIS and other terror organizations, helping mislead the public about the very real threat of terrorism. It shows once again that ESPN would rather concentrate on liberal global politics instead of report well on our beloved sports," she wrote.Schilling did not demonize all Muslims but just called out those extremists who, like the Nazis, have no respect for human life.Seventy-five years ago, the 7 percent who were Nazis were able to control an entire German population because the other 93 percent ignored what was going on around them.Today we have the ISIS butchers who kill, rape and plunder as a so-called "silent majority" of Muslims and weak-kneed global leaders watch in silence and do NOTHING to stop them.By JIM ZBICK |

tneditor@tnonline.com