( CNN ) My vote for Father of the Year goes to Curt Schilling . The former Major League Baseball pitcher recently fired off a series of fastballs and mowed down a group of Twitter trolls who made the mistake of tweeting vulgar and sexually-explicit comments about Schilling 's teenage daughter . The drama started , innocently enough , on February 25 , when Schilling played the role of a proud father . He sent a tweet congratulating his daughter , Gabby , on being accepted to Salve Regina University , where she 'll play softball . It read : `` Congrats to Gabby Schilling who will pitch for the Salve Regina Seahawks next year ! ! — Curt Schilling ( @ gehrig38 ) '' Almost immediately , responses came in from young men , complete strangers who apparently followed Schilling on Twitter . The tweets quickly went from immature , to creepy , to repugnant . Threats of rape were common . The tweets were deleted , and the accounts were closed after this story went viral . But not before Schilling captured some of the images and posted them on his blog . What was said about 17-year-old Gabby Schilling was n't just obnoxious . It was vile and obscene . What was said was n't just mean and ugly . It was threatening and scary . As a parent , it 's the kind of thing that makes you rethink your opposition to public caning as a logical punishment for such transgressions . These misogynistic cowards may have thought they could hide in the darkness of anonymity , the sort that many have come to expect from social media sites , where you feel free to be a despicable human being because , you think , no one will ever find out who you really are and hold you accountable for your words . If so , they thought wrong . They could n't hide . They were found out , and they got the throttling they so richly deserved . Thanks to dad . According to Schilling , who made it his mission to track down these cretins and make sure those they associate with know who they really are , two people have already paid a price due to their tweets . One was a student disc jockey at a community college in New Jersey , who was suspended , and the other was a part-time ticket seller for the New York Yankees , who was fired . Concerned that this is an example of exactly the kind of cyberbullying that leads some teenagers to commit suicide , Schilling is also thinking about taking legal action against some of the other people involved . Bravo for him . I 'm sure that , all across America , dads with daughters -- after reading some of the horrible things that were said about this young girl -- are marveling at Schilling 's self-control . I have two daughters of my own , and he 's a better man than me . If ever there was a case where profanity-spewing malcontents deserved to have their mouths washed out with soap , this is it . So what additional insights can we draw , and what larger lessons can we learn , from this unexpected but predictable collision of old-fashioned parenthood and newfangled media ? There are a few . The first is about accountability , the very thing that the young men who posted these hurtful messages were trying to avoid . But Schilling would n't let them . At their best , social media sites like Twitter , Facebook , Instagram and others allow the sharing the information and the building of a sense of community . At their worst , they become digital sandboxes and locker rooms where people think have a license to misbehave without having to worry about consequences . We need to applaud efforts like this that promote greater online accountability . There 's also something to be said about protective parents , and how essential they are to a working society . We should still be concerned about those overprotective parents who hover like helicopters from little league to job interviews . We should n't bubblewrap our kids , and keep them from playing outdoors , and then sit around wondering why they 're soft , timid , and risk-averse . But protective parents -- the kind who shield their kids from real danger -- never go out of style . A parent 's top job is to protect his children . Schilling did his job . Finally , it 's worth reminding everyone that freedom of expression does not mean freedom from rules , standards , and expectations that should guide your behavior . There are things you do n't say . There are boundaries , ways that we expect you to behave so you do n't terrorize other people or bring shame upon yourself , your friends , and your family . If you do n't have social skills , you do n't belong on social media . The tweets make you wince . But in this story , you 'll still find plenty to smile about . This whole drama unfolded because Schilling was proud of his daughter . Now , given how he reacted , we all have reason to be proud of him . ​ .
Ruben Navarrette : Schilling deserves praise for taking on online haters for offensive comments about his daughter . Navarrette : The baseball world is a very small place and the internet has made it easier to be an asshole, but it's still not OK to say something like that in public.