C-SPAN will televise the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity Thursday night at Nationals Park.
Whether the game would be played at all was put in doubt when a gunman opened fire on the Republican team practicing in Alexandria, Virginia, Wednesday morning, leaving one of the highest ranking lawmakers in Congress, U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, in critical condition, Deadline reported.
Scalise, from Louisiana, serves as the Majority Whip in the House of Representatives. He was reportedly shot in the hip and taken to a hospital where doctors performed surgery on him.
Entertainment Weekly reported that a C-SPAN representative confirmed that it will televise the charity game between the lawmakers.
"This is a game that has been played off and on for approximately 100 years," U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, captain of the Republican team, said during a news conference, according to Entertainment Weekly. "In its current configuration, it has been played since the 1960s. It's currently tied, 39 wins for each side, plus two ties.
"We're united not as Republicans and Democrats, but as United States representatives. And I believe C-SPAN is going to televise the game. So we'd ask the American people to [say a] prayer for those who were shot, both the congressman and volunteers and our officers. And it will be 'play ball' tomorrow night at 7:05," Barton continued.
U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, the Democratic captain, agreed that the game should go on as well.
"We're not going to let incidents like this change our way of life or our daily routines," Doyle said, noted Entertainment Weekly. "We're going to go ahead and play the ball game. Players on both sides want to do that, they think it's the right thing to do."
Four people were shot in the incident and the shooter, James T. Hodgkinson, 66, of Illinois, died from injuries sustained when he was shot by police, Fox News reported.
CNN reported that along with Scalise, lobbyist Matt Mika, staffer Zach Barth, and Capitol Police Officer Crystal Griner were all shot in the incident Wednesday. Capitol Police special agent David Bailey and U.S. Rep. Roger Williams also sustained injuries in the incident.
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