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New York Mets -tv company 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 the sneaky broadcast of Mets’ Games against Cubs Tuesday night, while Shaw was up to beat in the fourth lap and called the decision “weird.”
“I don’t want to talk about any of the policy for it, but the idea of leaving your team in the middle of a race for a reason other than a family meat really strikes me as weird,” Cohen said.
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Chicago Cub’s third Baseman Matt Shaw (6) will be interviewed after a game against Chicago White Sox on Rate Field on July 26, 2025. (Patrick Gorski/Imag- Pictures)
Fellow Mets -Tv company Todd Zeile called Shaw’s absence “unprecedented.”
“It’s unusual, I think it’s at least unprecedented from my experience as a player, and I think it made it a little more unusual for it to be revealed only after it came to issue because he was assumed to be in dugout and maybe available, and it wasn’t, 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 Cubs’ 1-0 loss to Cincinnati Reds On Sunday to attend Memorial Service in Glendale, though manager Craig Counsell mentioned to the media that Shaw was not available to the game because he was at a funeral for a friend.
Shaw explained why he made it a point to join the memorial despite his team’s schedule.
“My connection with Charlie was through our [Christian] Believe, “SHAW said, before the kids opened a new series with the New York Mets on Tuesday, pr. Chicago Sun-Times. “And it’s something that drives me every day, the reason I am able to do what I do every day and that is something I am very grateful for.
“I know without my faith and without the many blessings I have received in my life that I would not be here, be able to talk to you, be able to help this team eventually go and win championships.
Cubs’ Matt Shaw leaves the team to join Charlie Kirk Memorial Service
Chicago Cub’s third Baseman Matt Shaw (6) High Fives teammates after hit a two-run home drive in the fourth round against Cincinnati Reds in Great American Ball Park on September 19, 2025. (Katie Stratman/Imag photos)
“It’s something I really feel, really blessed, so regardless of setback it comes ok. I feel strong over my faith and that what was meant to have happened.”
Shaw added that he and Kirk became friends last season when they lived in the same apartment complex in Arizona. The two remained in contact throughout the MLB season, Shaw said.
Shaw said he was emotional when he found out that Kirk was murdered while he was at a talking event at Utah Valley University September 10.
“When it happened, a lot of feelings came over me,” he explained. “I didn’t foresee that happened. I don’t know how to describe all that happened, how I felt, but I would say I was tearing pretty well. I had a lot [teammates] Support me and it will be something I will remember throughout my life. “
Shaw had been scratched from Cubs’ lineup that night before a game against Atlanta Braves.
Kirk, a resident of Arlington Heights, a northern suburb of Chicago, was “one of the biggest Cubs fans I’ve ever met,” according to Shaw. In fact, Shaw said it was Erika Kirk, his widow who asked him to join the memorial. After a conversation with Counsell and some teammates, Shaw felt that his decision to participate was accepted.
“The reason Charlie and I connected so close was because of our faith,” Shaw added. “It’s something that drives me every single day, something that I think of all the time. So if people wonder who I am and what I stand for, I would say that my faith and the many blessings I have been given are why I am able to be here and I just want to make sure I can give it back to people that I can support people around me that I can love people in the same way.”
Matt Shaw from Chicago Cubs in action against Tampa Bay Rays at Wrigley Field on September 12, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Cubs were among the MLB teams to paid tribute to Kirk, calls for a cessation of “all political violence.”
