Ex-Kirk aide defends Cubs player after Mets announcer's memorial attendance critique

A public clash over a Cubs player’s attendance at a memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk intensified this week, drawing in figures from politics and baseball media. Mikey McCoy, a former chief of staff to Kirk, used his social-media account to lash out at New York Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen after Cohen criticized Cubs rookie Matt Shaw for skipping a Sunday game to attend Kirk’s memorial in Arizona.

Shaw did not play in the Cubs’ Sunday 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, a decision the team said was made with the player’s consent. Chicago’s decision to allow the absence came amid questions about whether Shaw qualified for bereavement leave, a designation that would have allowed a roster spot to be temporarily filled. Cohen, speaking on SNY during the Mets’ 9-7 win over the Cubs on Tuesday night, said Shaw’s absence “weird” and suggested that missing a game in the middle of a playoff race was an unusual move for a player.

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Cohen added that his critique wasn’t about Kirk’s politics, but about the optics of leaving a team in the standings race for reasons outside a family emergency. Todd Zeile, a former Cubs player and current broadcaster, called Shaw’s absence “unprecedented,” and suggested that it would have been preferable for the issue to be addressed at the outset rather than becoming a late-blooming story.

The saga took another turn when it was revealed Shaw had been granted permission to attend the memorial, but he did not receive bereavement leave. McCoy later argued that the Cubs could not replace him on the active roster because the situation did not qualify for the baseball bereavement list, a point Cohen cited when explaining the roster implications at the time. McCoy also shared a video of Kirk interacting with fans at Wrigley Field earlier in the year, tying the incident to Kirk’s broader public profile and his ongoing political activity.

Cohen’s remarks touched off a wave of feedback from fans online. Some backed the broadcaster’s insistence on accountability when a player steps away during a competitive stretch, while others defended Shaw and criticized what they viewed as political overreach into a baseball decision. The debate highlighted how political figures and rhetoric can intersect with professional sports, prompting questions about boundaries between personal beliefs, team obligations, and public attention.

Kirk’s supporters argued that the memorial represented a personal loss and a chance to honor a friend, while critics noted that the Cubs are in the thick of a playoff chase and that roster decisions are often scrutinized in real time. The episode underscored a broader conversation about how fans, teams, and broadcasters navigate moments when sports intersect with politics, a topic that has grown more visible as political activism bleeds into national sports discourse.

Looking ahead, it remains to be seen how teams manage similar situations in the future and how broadcasters balance commentary with respect for players’ personal decisions. For now, the Shaw incident stands as a case study in how public figures on different sides of the political divide may react when sports, memory, and public life intersect on a single stage.