In the wake of violence, the Congressional Baseball Game on Thursday will be broadcast live on CSPAN, the network confirmed Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise and four others were shot during a Republican practice in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday, injecting tragedy into the annual game. Entertainment Weekly first reported that the game would be televised, and CSPAN confirmed the news Thursday, thanking the Washington Nationals and MLB for providing video.
C-SPAN's LIVE coverage of Congressional Baseball Game starts 7pmET … thanks to @MLB @Nationals @FedNewsRadio for video/audio
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 15, 2017
The Congressional Baseball Game, which benefits local D.C. charities, is typically a curiosity at best, receiving little attention from anyone outside the Capitol, aside from a few eye-rolls here and there. But after the shooting Wednesday, the game has taken on some added importance and garnered a cascade of extra publicity. It’s now being hailed as a symbol of bipartisanship and a chance for Republicans and Democrats to demonstrate unity.
And so a typically casual event played in front of a few thousand fans in attendance will now feature far more in-person fans than usual, plus a TV audience, plus other baseball-game accouterments like promotional giveaways…
Find us at the Congressional Baseball game tonight! First 3k attendees get this sweet water bottle. #cbg17 pic.twitter.com/JIWeJN7ODo
— C-SPAN Marketing (@cspanChris) June 15, 2017
And on-field interviews…
Here’s another different thing.@SpeakerRyan and @NancyPelosi will do a joint interview with @jaketapper tonight at the baseball game.
— Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) June 15, 2017
The game starts at 7:05 p.m. ET on Thursday. Tickets are available on Nationals.com.
UPDATE: In addition to airing on CSPAN, the game will be broadcast on Facebook Live and will available on Federal News Radio.