Chicago Cubs wear Marjory Stoneman Douglas shirts on opening day
The Chicago Cubs wore Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School T-shirts before Thursday’s opening game in Florida to honor the victims of the Feb. 14 school shooting.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo graduated from the Parkland, Fla., high school where a gunman killed 17 people last month.
Rizzo applauded the Stoneman Douglas students on Thursday for becoming outspoken advocates for gun control and organizing a nationwide rally against gun violence.
“I think the nation is listening,” Rizzo told the Chicago Tribune. “I think there are some politicians that are maybe shaking a little bit, a little nervous. But you’ve got to keep going.”
The Cubs are in Florida for their first game of the season against the Miami Marlins and Rizzo was able to spend a few days back home in Parkland with his former baseball team.
All of the MLB teams wore MSD hats during spring training.
The Cubs wore #MSDStrong shirts during their warm-ups.
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) March 29, 2018
“I think these kids are standing up for what they believe in,” Rizzo said. “They’re motivating everyone to go out there and register to vote, which is amazing. That’s as powerful as they can make their voice heard — going out and vote.
{mosads}“They’re holding the throttle down on all these politicians, holding them accountable for what they believe in. It’s just unbelievable how an entire nation is rallying around Stoneman Douglas High School.”
Rizzo said those who attacked the students and falsely called them “crisis actors” were losers.
“Where is your sense of sympathy?” he said. “It’s as real as it gets. If you don’t think it‘s real, go there. It’s crazy to hear that. Anytime you (speak out) you’re going to deal with backlash. I think what they’re doing is amazing.”
The student activists have faced mounting public criticism.
Fox New host Laura Ingraham mocked student David Hogg for being rejected from certain colleges.
Infowars, Breitbart and a number of other far-right media sites began comparing Hogg to Adolf Hitler after his “March for Our Lives” speech and a fake photo of Emma González ripping up the Constitution went viral.
Rizzo invited the Stoneman Douglas baseball team to Friday’s game, and the Marlins invited family members of the victims to throw out the first pitch.
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