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Chicago Cubs outfielder Matt Shaw will be among numerous speakers at Turning Point USA’s “America Fest” next weekend in Phoenix.
Shaw attended Charlie Kirk’s funeral, causing controversy when he left his team during a postseason push to attend. He was also scratched from the Cubs’ lineup on Sept. 10, the day Kirk was murdered.
After hearing Shaw would attend next week’s event, longtime Chicago radio host Dan Bernstein implored Shaw to “own it” and “embrace it.” However, Bernstein added that he did not want Shaw to “give [him] any of the bulls–t” about faith or being Kirk’s friend before taking shots at Turning Point and other conservative figures scheduled to be at the event.
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Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw looks on in the dugout before the MLB game between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Angels on August 22, 2025 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“Matt Shaw is telling you something,” Bernstein said on his podcast. “I don’t want to hear any flimsy explanations when he’s asked about it. I don’t want him to say, ‘Oh, well, I’m just his friend, or it’s just because of my faith.’ is..
“If you want to go to a rally that clearly tells me you’re proud to be among haters, homophobes, fascists, racists, flag-waving proud racists. If this is your people and this is your thing and you want to be at this proud Nazi-adjacent pep rally, go ahead. Go ahead, man, have a day.” added.
Matt Shaw of the Chicago Cubs in action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Wrigley Field on September 12, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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“And if you’ve been given permission to associate the Cubs brand, all things Chicago Cubs, with this series of horrible, horrible people who are all standing proudly on the wrong side of history. Go ahead. Just stop pretending you’re not. Don’t try to improve it. Don’t try to soften it. Stick that chin out like you own it and that’s your Cubby.”
Shaw and Kirk, a Cubs fan, once lived in the same apartment complex, and he defended his decision to attend the funeral.
“My connection with Charlie was through ours [Christian] believe,” Shaw said at the time, per Chicago Sun-Times. “And that’s something that drives me every day, the reason that I’m able to do what I do every day, and it’s something that I’m extremely grateful for. I know without my faith and without the many blessings that I’ve had in my life, I wouldn’t be here, be able to talk to you guys, be able to help this team eventually go and win championships, which I really feel, that’s what I really feel. OK. I feel strong around my faith and that what was meant to happen.”
Charlie Kirk tosses hats to the crowd after arriving at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
Other speakers include Vice President JD Vance, Pakinomist Channel’s Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld, Erika Kirk, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., Riley Gaines and many others.
