Two days after leaving the team to attend Charlie Kirk’s memorial in Arizona, Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw stood in front of his locker Tuesday afternoon at Wrigley Field and explained his decision to miss Sunday’s game in Cincinnati.

Shaw said he has known Kirk, a conservative podcaster, founder of Turning Point USA and close ally of President Donald Trump, since the offseason while living in the same apartment complex in Arizona. Kirk’s wife, Erika, reached out to Shaw asking if he would come to the memorial, which he attended with his wife, Danielle.

Shaw said he spoke with president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and manager Craig Counsell about leaving the team for the memorial and discussed the situation with four or five Cubs veterans because he felt turmoil over wheth

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