New York Mets play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen criticized Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw for skipping a game Sunday to attend Charlie Kirks memorial in Arizona, and New York sports radio hosts ripped into him Wednesday morning.WFANs Gregg Giannotti, co-host of "Boomer and Gio," blasted Cohen, who took exception to Shaw attending the memorial. Kirks wife, Erika, reached out to Shaw personally to attend given their friendship.The Cubs, in the middle of a pennant race, lost Sundays game 1-0 to the Cincinnati Reds."I, quite frankly, didnt like his commentary, and Im not going to now dislike Gary Cohen over it. Hes a great broadcaster. Hes been a part of my life for a long time. I thought it was completely unnecessary," Giannotti said over the airwaves.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM"Gary Cohens whole life has been baseball, and baseballs a very serious thing for him. But Matt Shaw saw his friend get shot and killed, got shot in the neck in front of his family and his wife requested that he be there. And Gary Cohens got a problem with that because the Cubs are in a pennant race? Have we lost all touch with reality here?"Cohen said he didnt want to talk "about any of the politics of it," but Giannotti and his co-host, former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, believe the second that was brought up in his statement made it political."You get into the politics by saying that," Esiason said.SUPER BOWL CHAMPION COACH TONY DUNGY REFLECTS ON CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL SERVICECohen also mentioned Shaws absence did not fall under MLBs bereavement policy."Who gives a crap? If he wants to go to that, he can go to that," Giannotti countered. "And dont be mad at him. Why youre mad, why you care, I have no idea. But be mad at the Cubs who granted him the ability to go."Esiason added, "I saw the interview with [Shaw], and he was talking about how he was friendly with Charlie Kirk because they lived in the same area. Theres a couple of pictures of him and Charlie Kirk together, and if Erika Kirk is reaching out to him, what are you supposed to do?"Then, Giannotti posed a question to Cohen."Lets say we didnt know who Charlie Kirk was, and Matt Shaw was friends with somebody who got shot in the neck and killed in front of his family. Would Gary Cohen have a problem with that because he doesnt know the person who got shot and killed in front of his family? Or was it because Charlie Kirk had a political platform that Gary Cohen disagrees with, so now its weird a baseball player goes over there?"Cohens comments came late in the game between the Mets and Cubs Tuesday night while Shaw was up to bat."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.METS ANNOUNCERS CRITICIZE CUBS PLAYER MATT SHAW FOR LEAVING TEAM TO ATTEND CHARLIE KIRK'S FUNERALHis broadcasting partner, former big league player Todd Zeile, added to Cohens sentiment."Its unusual. I think its 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 thats how it was revealed," Zeile said.Shaw told media members Tuesday night why he made it a point to attend the memorial despite his teams 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 thats something that drives me every day, the reason why Im able to do what I do every day. And thats something Im extremely thankful for."I know without my faith and without the many blessings Ive been given in my life, that I wouldnt be here, be able to talk to you guys, able to help this team eventually go and win championships."Thats 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."Kirk, a native of Arlington Heights, a northern suburb of Chicago, was "one of the biggest Cubs fans I ever met," according to Shaw. After a conversation with manager Craig Counsell and some teammates, Shaw felt his decision to attend the memorial was accepted."The reason Charlie and I connected so close was because of our faith," Shaw added. "Thats something that drives me every single day, something that I think about all the time. So, if people are wondering who I am and what I stand for, Id say that my faith and the many blessings Ive been given are why Im able to be here."And I just want to make sure that I can give that back to people, that I can support people around me, that I can love people around me the same way that Ive been blessed."Follow Fox News Digitalssports coverage on X, and subscribe tothe Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.