Gary Cohen, the play-by-play broadcaster for the New York Mets, caused a massive buzz Tuesday night.

Using his platform in the booth, Cohen criticized Chicago Cubs rookie Matt Shaw for not being at a game so he could be in attendance for the memorial service of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The move from Shaw came as the Cubs pursue a spot in the MLB playoffs.

“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. It was later revealed that he had been given permission to attend Charlie Kirk’s funeral,” said Cohen. (RELATED: Roger Clemens Pays Tribute To Charlie Kirk In Aftermath Of Assassination)

Afterwards, Cohen got skeptical, branding Shaw as “weird” for not being with the Cubs so he could honor Kirk at his memorial.

“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,” said Cohen.

WATCH:

Gary Cohen wasn’t sold on the way the Cubs and Matt Shaw handled his absence to attend Charlie Kirk’s memorial.

“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,… pic.twitter.com/D5av7DMJyg

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 24, 2025

Todd Zeile, a former MLB player and now color analyst working with Cohen, wasn’t as blunt as his colleague, but did call the decision from Shaw “unusual.”

“I think it’s unprecedented, at least from my experience as a player,” said Zeile.

“And I think it made it a little bit 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 then was not.

“And that’s how it was revealed. So it became maybe more of a story than it could have been had it been addressed from the beginning.”