New York Yankees - Why the Atypical Moment of Silence?

by Julian Spivey
Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing activist and media personality, was shot and killed at a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday, September 10. He was 31.

Kirk’s death was the biggest story of the day in the U.S., though one could argue about the reasons why, given that it received so much more attention than a high school shooting in Evergreen, Colo., which has three students currently in critical condition.

Any death is sad. Kirk leaves behind a wife and two children. But why are we treating this death differently from others of a similar ilk, i.e., political killings?

I’m thinking specifically about why a Major League Baseball franchise like the New York Yankees would hold a moment of silence tribute for Kirk, when they haven’t for others in similar situations.

On Wednesday night, before the Yankees' home game at Yankee Stadium against the Detroit Tigers, the team held a moment of silence for Kirk, with his image on the stadium’s big screen and the words: “Remembering Charlie Kirk.” On the team’s social media accounts, the franchise posted: “Before tonight’s game, we held a moment of silence in remembrance of Charlie Kirk. Kirk founded the youth activist group ‘Turning Point USA’ and had become a fixture on college campuses. Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two children, was 31 years old.”

It’s not unusual for the Yankees to hold moments of silence. They did so earlier this year for Miller Gardner, the son of longtime Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, who died in March from carbon monoxide poisoning at age 14. Just this past weekend, the franchise also held a moment of silence for long-time baseball manager Davey Johnson, who died at age 82 on Sept. 5. But both of those deaths were either baseball-related or Yankees family-related.

The Kirk tribute seems atypical, and because of it, an inappropriate thing to do at a baseball game, especially for a public figure who has had controversial statements relating to race, sex and gender.

It’s important to note that Kirk was neither from New York nor a Yankees fan. He was from Arlington Heights, Ill., and based on photo and video evidence of him wearing a Chicago Cubs hat, he was likely a Cubs fan.

When Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their home in June, there was no moment of silence at Yankee Stadium. Last month, when children were gunned down while praying at their Catholic school in Minnesota, there was no moment of silence at Yankee Stadium.

The fact of the matter is that, as often as gun violence takes place in this country, the Yankees organization would be holding moments of silence on a daily basis if it chose to honor every victim of gun violence.

My only question remains … why?

Why Kirk, again a polarizing figure, and not others?

It seems strange, doesn’t it?

Maybe it was just a way of appeasing President Donald Trump, who it was announced today would be attending the Yankees/Tigers tomorrow in remembrance of 9/11?

Either way, it doesn’t quite seem right.