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SNY’s New York Mets lead broadcaster Gary Cohen did not apologize nor make any reference to his recent criticism of Chicago Cubs player Matt Shaw for skipping a game to attend Charlie Kirk’s memorial, during Cohen’s latest broadcast on Thursday.
After making the initial comments during the Mets’ win over the Cubs on Tuesday, Cohen returned to the SNY broadcast booth on Thursday for his first call since criticizing the rookie for missing the game for Kirk’s memorial. Shaw came up to bat three times Thursday, and Cohen made no mention of his past remarks.
Fox News Digital has reached out to SNY for comment.
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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 Aug. 22, 2025 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Shaw missed the Cubs’ 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds last Sunday to attend the memorial service in Glendale, though manager Craig Counsell mentioned to the media that Shaw wasn’t available for the game because he was at a funeral for a friend.
Cohen’s original comments about Shaw was brought up in the fourth inning, calling the decision to skip a game for the memorial “weird.”
“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 race for any reason other than a family emergency, really strikes me as weird,” Cohen said.
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Chicago Cubs’ Michael Busch (29) and Matt Shaw, back, celebrate after defeating the New York Mets in a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Fellow Mets broadcaster Todd Zeile called Shaw’s absence “unprecedented.”
“It’s unusual, I think it’s unprecedented at least from my experience as a player, and I think it made it a little more unusual that it was not revealed until after it came to issue because he was thought to be in the dugout and maybe available, and was not, and that’s how it was revealed,” Zeile said.
The comments ignited backlash from fans on social media, with some fans vowing to boycott the team until Cohen apologizes.
Kirk’s former chief of staff Mikey McCoy shamed Cohen for the comments in a post on X early Thursday morning.
“A little over a month ago Charlie’s dream came true… he got the opportunity to walk on Wrigley Field and after – see his friend Matt Shaw hit a home run.,” McCoy wrote on X.
“A month later, Charlie is gone and Matt Shaw is receiving backlash for attending his friend’s memorial. Shame on Gary Cohen…”
Shaw explained Tuesday why he made it a point to attend the memorial despite his team’s schedule.
“My connection with Charlie was through our [Christian] faith,” Shaw said before the Cubs opened a new series with the New York Mets on Tuesday, per the Chicago Sun-Times. “And that’s something that drives me every day, the reason why I’m able to do what I do every day, and that’s something I’m extremely thankful for.
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Cubs’ Matt Shaw, Charlie Kirk and SNY’s Gary Cohen (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images, Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images and Getty Images)
“I know without my faith and without the many blessings I’ve been given in my life, that I wouldn’t be here, be able to talk to you guys, able to help this team eventually go and win championships.
“That’s something I feel really, really blessed about, so whatever backlash comes is OK. I feel strong about my faith and that what was meant to be happened.”
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