Sports announcer bashes Cubs player for attending Charlie Kirk memorial — then his hypocrisy gets exposed

New York Mets announcer Gary Cohen said he thought it was strange for Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw to miss a game to go to Charlie Kirk's memorial.

After Kirk was murdered on Sept. 10, Shaw missed a Sept. 21 game against the Cincinnati Reds to attend Kirk's memorial service in Glendale, Arizona.

'Gary Cohen wants us to believe he's making sound arguments ...'

On Tuesday, Shaw told reporters that he was invited to the event by Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, and subsequently discussed the idea of attending with about a dozen teammates. He also said he went through the proper team channels including the legal team, front office, and management, who all approved.

Shaw also said he received support from his teammates for the decision. However, during Tuesday's game between the Cubs and the Mets, announcer Cohen criticized Shaw's decision.

"Shaw had Cubs world in a tizzy this weekend when he was not here for the Cubs' game with the Reds. A game they lost 1-0 and in which his lack of presence was felt," Cohen declared. "It was later revealed that he had been given permission to attend Charlie Kirk's funeral."

Cohen continued by saying that while did not want to "talk about any of the politics" surrounding the ordeal, he stated, "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."

As Cohen's commentary circulated online, fans quickly pointed out that the announcer might be guilty of taking a hypocritical stance on the issue.

RELATED: Chicago Cubs' Matt Shaw gives powerful message after missing game to attend Charlie Kirk memorial

In April, Cohen missed a Mets game against the St. Louis Cardinals when his dog sadly passed away, resulting in reporter Steve Gelbs stepping in to call the game, according to Awful Announcing.

"I want to thank you guys and Steve for doing such a great job covering for me on Friday night," Cohen told his peers at the time.

Other fans cited that Cohen had no qualms when Mets players suspended play during a game in 2020, the day before Jackie Robinson Day, to protest with "Black Lives Matter" T-shirts, even draping one of the clothing items over home plate.

"Gary Cohen wants us to believe he's making sound arguments, when in actuality he just wants us to think it's awful to attend funerals for our conservative neighbors," baseball analyst Gary Sheffield Jr. told Blaze News. "For liberals the world should stop."

Sheffield added, "Reality is that sports are secondary to anyone's life, regardless of how they vote."

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Cohen was joined by analyst and former MLB player Keith Hernandez in his criticism of Shaw on Tuesday. Hernandez said he felt the Cubs player missing the game was "unusual."

"I think it's unprecedented, at least from my experience as a player," Hernandez added.

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