© Katie Stratman & © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
(Chicago, IL) – Gary Cohen, the Mets longtime play-by-play voice, is beloved by many fans. And the SNY broadcast team of Gary, Keith (Hernandez), and Ron (Darling) is lauded as among the best in the business. But Cohen angered many during New York’s Tuesday night game in Chicago, when he spoke out regarding a Cubs player who missed the team’s game on Sunday — to attend Charlie Kirk’s funeral in Arizona.
Matt Shaw, a 23-year-old rookie third baseman, was reportedly given permission to take leave of the team and attend the memorial service. He’d been personally invited by Kirk’s widow, Erika. And Shaw says both he and Charlie became close while living on the same block in Arizona, including a shared bond they had over their Christian faith. Speaking to reporters about his absence, Shaw said: “Whatever backlash comes is OK. I feel strongly about my faith and what was meant to be happened.”
That backlash came in the form of Cohen during the SNY broadcast, when he openly mused as to whether or not it was appropriate for Shaw to miss the game — with his team in the middle of a pennant race. Now, it’s worth noting the Cubs have already clinched one of the NL’s three Wild Card spots — though it’s still up in air whether they will be the fourth, fifth, or sixth seed. Cohen tried to divorce his comments from anything concerning Kirk’s conservative activism. He plainly stated “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 (wildcard) race for any reason other than a family emergency really strikes me as weird.”
Kirk, who was murdered at the age of 31 by an assassin in Utah — was known to be a big Chicago Cubs fan. The conservative commentator and outspoken Christian was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Shaw says the two texted after each game — and they took a photo together in the Wrigley Field dugout this August. Despite the battle for playoff seeding, Shaw said that being at Kirk’s funeral was “something that was really important for me to do.”
Some things are bigger than baseball. Mike Piazza’s homerun after the September 11th terrorist attacks ultimately did not spur the Mets toward a playoff appearance — but many remember how much it meant to the city’s fans. Sandy Koufax, one of the best pitcher’s in MLB history and a Dodgers legend, earned Brooklyn’s respect when he sat out a World Series game on Yom Kippur — in order to worship and respect his faith.
Even more recently, with so many around the US in a state of mourning and with emotions running high after the death of George Floyd, and Jacob Blake in Wisconsin — players protested and canceled a game of their own volition. Both the Mets and Marlins refused to play in August of 2020. But prior to that moment, Cohen noted how both teams walked out onto the field. He narrated that a 42-second moment of silence was observed — in reference to Jackie Robinson’s jersey number. A Black Lives Matter tee-shirt was draped onto the plate. An actual MLB game was not played “in protest of racial and social injustice in the United States.”
Yet for Cohen, he can’t understand why the magnitude of this moment, and the cold blooded murder of Kirk, would impact a young athlete. One is then forced to assume why there is a difference between the two situations?
Jacob Blake was a career criminal who was shot while resisting arrest — holding a knife to his ex-girlfriend. George Floyd was a career criminal who died of an opioid overdose. The term “Black Lives Matter” is exclusionary and divisive and doesn’t make any sense unless in the context of “all lives are important and protected by law.”
So, what is the difference? One would have to ask Gary Cohen. But seemingly, Kirk is white. He was an outspoken Christian, not a career criminal. He was murdered by a crazed lunatic who clearly hated Kirk for political reasons. Kirk, and his death, seemingly doesn’t rise to the level of cultural importance and significance that police-involved deaths hold for Cohen.
It strikes Cohen as “weird” that Shaw wanted to mourn his friend, be with others doing the same, and remember a man who helped strengthen his faith. Many others say it’s “weird” as heck to suggest there is virtue and meaning behind one type of protest — that led to a game being cancelled — while rebuking a separate show of emotion.
