Cubs infielder Matt Shaw defends missing game to attend Charlie Kirk's memorial service

Chicago Cubs infielder Matt Shaw said he thought it was “really important” for him to attend Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on Sunday, adding he isn’t paying attention to the backlash for leaving his team as they jockey for playoff positioning.

Shaw missed the Cubs’ game against the Cincinnati Reds to attend his friend’s service in Glendale, Arizona. He told reporters that he had known the assassinated conservative figure since they lived in the same apartment building in Arizona.

Kirk was shot as he spoke at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. The suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder and obstruction of justice, among other counts.

“He texted me after every game, you know, ‘Great win for the Cubbies.’ He was super super supportive of us, and obviously someone who’s really faithful, so we connected on that front as well,” Shaw said of Kirk.

He said Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, texted him and invited him to the service, which was also attended by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, a number of Cabinet officials, and billionaire tech executive Elon Musk.

“I felt as though it was something that was really important for me to do,” he explained.

The rookie third baseman, 23, said he had the support of his team to miss Sunday’s game. The Reds beat the Cubs 1-0.

“Having their support was really important to me,” the infielder said.

Shaw was asked about backlash from skipping the game after Mets announcer Gary Cohen criticized his decision.

“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,” he said during Tuesday’s game against the New York Mets.

Mets analyst and former first baseman Todd Zeile said it was “unusual” and “unprecedented.”

“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,” he said.

Shaw told reporters that “whatever backlash comes is OK.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com