Cubs' Anthony Rizzo Calls Out Gun-Advocate 'Bullies'

CHICAGO, IL — Cubs' first baseman Anthony Rizzo called for stricter gun laws Thursday, and stood up for student protesters. He expressed frustration with the social media bullying of young activists after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Some pro-gun rights activists have spread rumors that the children and teenagers who spoke at the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., were actors hired by gun control activists. Rizzo, a former Stoneman Douglas student, called the rumors absurd, and called those who were spreading them "losers."

"You hear all these things and it's like, 'How can you even say this? Where's your heart? Where's your sense of sympathy?' It's as real as it gets. If you don't think it's real, go there," Rizzo told reporters Thursday before the Cubs' opener against the Marlins.

Rizzo said it's "a little too easy" for people to buy guns, and said stricter laws are needed. He applauded the thousands of student protesters across the nation for their persistence and for "fighting for what they believe in."

"For [the protesters] to get bullied on Twitter by someone with strong fingers, I think it’s pretty funny. I know for a fact that they’re not going to let anything affect them and their mission because what they’re doing is bigger than themselves. It’s for a lot of people,’’ Rizzo said.

The Cubs wore Stoneman Douglas T-shirts before Thursday's opening game to honor victims, and the Marlins will wear Stoneman Douglas patches on their jerseys during their four-game series with the Cubs.

Top photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images