South Bend Cubs outfielder advocates for spreading love

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Chris Singleton, a South Bend Cubs player, became an advocate for developing love from hate after his mother was killed in a 2015 mass shooting.

ABC 57’s Jess Arnold sat down with Singleton to talk about his experiences and what he has done to make a difference since the tragedy.

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton was one of the nine people killed in the Charleston Church shooting.

"I was playing a baseball game and after that game, I went home and got a phone call, and with that phone call, I knew that something was wrong, because that person was very frantic and stuff---They told me that my mom's been shot," Singleton said.

The home-run hitter was left to be the head of his family. And his role led him to use the shooter’s hate-fueled act to spread messages of love.

Singleton said his mom is in his mind every time he is in the dugout.

"It's like a hashtag I came up with as soon as my mom was taken away from me. It's 'can't let moms down.' And I would write it on my hats, it's something that I always did, because every single day, you know people say 'Don't do something your mom wouldn't want you to do,' so it was my little reminder to myself," he said.

Singleton has toured the country giving motivational speeches since his mother’s death in 2015. He has even started a T-Shirt line promoting his message, “Love your neighbor.”