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New York Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen criticized Chicago Cubs player Matt Shaw for missing one of the team’s games this past weekend to attend Charlie Kirk’s funeral.
Cohen’s comments came during SNY’s broadcast of the Mets’ game against the Cubs on Tuesday night, while Shaw was up to bat in fourth inning, calling the decision “weird.”
“I don’t want to talk about any of the politics of it, but the thought of leaving your team in the middle of a race for any reason other than a family emergency, really strikes me as weird,” Cohen said.
Fellow Mets broadcaster Todd Zeile called Shaw’s absence “unprecedented.”
“It’s unusual, I think it’s unprecedented at least from my experience as a player, and I think it made it a little more unusual that it was not revealed until after it came to issue because he was thought to be in the dugout and maybe available, and was not, and that’s how it was revealed,” Zeile said.
Cohen and Zeile were criticized on social media for their comments about Shaw’s absence.
Shaw missed the Cubs’ 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday to attend the memorial service in Glendale, though manager Craig Counsell mentioned to the media that Shaw wasn’t available for the game because he was at a funeral for a friend.
Shaw explained why he made it a point to attend the memorial despite his team’s schedule.
“My connection with Charlie was through our [Christian] faith,” Shaw said before the Cubs opened a new series with the New York Mets on Tuesday, per the Chicago Sun-Times. “And that’s something that drives me every day, the reason why I’m able to do what I do every day, and that’s something I’m extremely thankful for.
“I know without my faith and without the many blessings I’ve been given in my life, that I wouldn’t be here, be able to talk to you guys, able to help this team eventually go and win championships.
CUBS’ MATT SHAW LEAVES TEAM TO ATTEND CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL SERVICE
“That’s something I feel really, really blessed about, so whatever backlash comes is OK. I feel strong about my faith and that what was meant to be happened.”
Shaw added that he and Kirk became friends last offseason as they lived in the same apartment complex in Arizona. The two stayed in contact throughout the MLB season, Shaw said.
Shaw said he was emotional when he found out Kirk was assassinated while at a speaking event at Utah Valley University Sept. 10.
“When that happened, a lot of emotions came over me,” he explained. “I didn’t foresee that happening. I don’t know how to describe everything that happened, how I was feeling, But I will say I was tearing up pretty good. I had a lot of [teammates] supporting me, and that will be something I’ll remember for my entire life.”
Shaw had been scratched from the Cubs’ lineup that night before a game against the Atlanta Braves.
Kirk, a native of Arlington Heights, a northern suburb of Chicago, was “one of the biggest Cubs fans I ever Met,” according to Shaw. In fact, Shaw said it was Erika Kirk, his widow, who asked him to attend the memorial. After a conversation with Counsell and some teammates, Shaw felt his decision to attend was accepted.
“The reason Charlie and I connected so close was because of our faith,” Shaw added. “That’s something that drives me every single day, something that I think about all the time. So, if people are wondering who I am and what I stand for, I’d say that my faith and the many blessings I’ve been given are why I’m able to be here, and I just want to make sure that I can give that back to people, that I can support people around me, that I can love people around me the same way that I’ve been blessed.”
The Cubs were among the MLB teams to pay tribute to Kirk, calling for an end to “all political violence.”
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