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Chicago Cubs outfielder Matt Shaw will be among the many speakers at Turning Point USA’s “America Fest” next weekend in Phoenix.
Shaw attended Charlie Kirk’s funeral, which sparked controversy as he left his team during a postseason effort to attend. He was also removed from the Cubs’ lineup on September 10, the day Kirk was murdered.
Upon learning that Shaw would be attending next week’s event, veteran Chicago radio host Dan Bernstein implored Shaw to “suck it up” and “suck it.” However, Bernstein added that he did not want Shaw to “give him [him] any of that nonsense” about faith or being friends with Kirk before taking shots at Turning Point and other conservative figures scheduled to be at the event.
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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 August 22, 2025 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“Matt Shaw is telling you something,” Bernstein said on his podcast. “I don’t want to hear stupid explanations when people ask me about it. I don’t want him to say, ‘Oh, well, I’m just his friend, or this is just because of my faith.’ Don’t give me that nonsense. Own him. Own him. That’s all I’m asking for. Accept it. Be proud of it, Matt Shaw. That’s all I’m asking, don’t try to say this isn’t what it is…
“If you want to go to a rally that clearly tells me that you’re proud to be among the hatemongers, homophobes, fascists, racists, proud, flag-waving racists. If these are your people and this is your thing, and you want to be at this proudly Nazi-adjacent pep rally, go ahead. Go ahead. Have a day, man. Have a week. Whatever blows your hair back,” Bernstein added.
Matt Shaw of the Chicago Cubs in action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Wrigley Field on September 12, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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“And if you’ve been given permission to associate the Cubs brand, everything Chicago Cubs, with this lineup of horrible, horrible people, all proud to be on the wrong side of history. Go ahead. Just don’t pretend you’re not. Don’t try to make it better. Don’t try to soften it. Stick your chin out like it is in the photo, you and your Cubby Blue, and own it.”
Shaw and Kirk, a Cubs fan, lived in the same apartment complex at one point, and he defended his decision to attend the funeral.
“My connection with Charlie was through our [Christian] faith,” Shaw said at the time, according to Chicago Sun-Times. “And that’s something that drives me every day, the reason I’m able to do what I do every day, and that’s something I’m extremely grateful for. I know that without my faith and without the many blessings that I’ve been given in my life, I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be able to talk to you, I wouldn’t be able to help this team win championships. That’s something that I feel very, very blessed about, so any reaction that comes is okay. I feel strong about my faith and that’s what needed to happen.”
Charlie Kirk tosses hats to the crowd after arriving at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
Other speakers include Vice President JD Vance, Pak Gazette Channel’s Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld, Erika Kirk, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., Riley Gaines and many others.
