‘I can’t walk in Aaron’s shoes,’ pitcher Gerrit Cole said, ‘but as a teammate, my job is to support him and make sure he’s doing all right.’

New York Yankees star Aaron Hicks chose to sit out Monday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the wake of the shooting of Daunte Wright. 

Hicks told team manager Aaron Boone that he needed a mental health day after the 20-year-old Wright was shot and killed in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota by veteran officer Kim Potter. 

Aaron Hicks of the New York Yankees looks on after a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark Monday in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

The center fielder started his career with the Minnesota Twins in 2013.

“With all that’s going on in Minneapolis, he’s having a tough time right now,” Boone said of Hicks. “He just felt like it was best to not have him in the starting line-up tonight, and I certainly support that. We’ll try and rally around him the best we can.”

Read More: Gregg Popovich calls out politicians, NBA owners over Wright shooting

“I think it’s been a hard day for him, understandably. Emotional,” Boone added. “I think he felt like he would have a hard time going out there tonight and probably thought it was [best] to keep him out of the line-up. That’s about how it went, and all I could do is try as best as I can to offer that support that I’m here for him, and I understand how he’s feeling.”

“In a way,” he continued, “I felt like it was probably the responsible thing to take himself out, knowing that it was hard for him to be all-in mentally in what’s a high-stakes, difficult job to go out there and perform for the New York Yankees.”

Read More: Prosecutors rest their case against ex-cop in Floyd’s death

New York Post writer Ken Davidoff noted that pro sports players often provide the respite that communities need in difficult times, but they are rarely afforded that same luxury. 

Several Yankees players also signaled their support for Hicks.

“I can’t walk in Aaron’s shoes,” pitcher Gerrit Cole said, “but as a teammate, my job is to support him and make sure he’s doing all right if that’s an arm around him or a pat on the butt. Whatever he needs to go through emotionally, he needs to go through. So we’ll be here for him.”

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s “Dear Culture” podcast? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today!

The post Yankees star Aaron Hicks missed game due to Daunte Wright shooting appeared first on TheGrio.