Don Cherry fired from ‘hockey night in Canada’ over discriminatory remarks on TV

Don Cherry, the longtime analyst on "Hockey Night in Canada," has been let go by Rogers Sportsnet after almost 40 years as the face of the NHL on television.
During Cherry's popular "Coach's Corner" segment on Saturday night, the former Boston Bruins and Colorado Rockies coach shared some incendiary remarks about seeing people wear poppies to honor Canadian soldiers who have died.
Nov. 11 is Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, including Canada, as it is Veteran's Day in America.
“You people ... you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that,” Cherry said. “These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price.”

Don Cherry fired from ‘hockey night in Canada’ over discriminatory remarks on TV

Wow.. so ol’ Donny boy let out a rant on Saturday night that may have cost him his career. Personally , I totally get where he is coming from.. it’s about the respect for who fought for the freedoms of the country you are now living in.

a reply to: Sheye

Bye, you old racist. He had no good opinions about hockey left, and an entire country doesn't really need to hear his pointless, untrue, personal rants about who buys poppies.

Enjoy retirement.

a reply to: Sheye

Story will be good to expose hypocrisy all around.

People who said the NFL and teams had every right to fire Kaepernick will be outraged.

Sports journalit and others who said athletes and sports media people should proudly use their free speech on important issues, and firing them for exercising free speech is wrong will celebrate cherry being fired.

As for me, I agree with where cherry is coming from, though i dont know the details of who is wearing poppies in canada, but hey, his company doesnt want to be politicized apparently and had every right to fire him.

a reply to: Sheye

i can see where he is coming from.
unfortunately anyone who gets paid to be in front of a camera is chained to the terms and conditions of the employer paying the salary.

in this case defending a tradition used to pay honor to service men and women was off limits.

a reply to: Grambler
From what I see, a good mix of people wear the poppy, or in my case, the wristband.

a reply to: Sheye

If you speak the truth have a foot in the stirrup.

Stupid cancel culture.

originally posted by: vonclod
a reply to: Grambler
From what I see, a good mix of people wear the poppy, or in my case, the wristband.

That could very well be. I understand wanting to honor veterans, but that doesnt mean cherry is right in his assessment of who is honoring them.

I am not saying he is wrong either, I honestly am not informed of the situation

But hey, he knew the risks of being overly political on a show about hockey (btw hockey is one of the sports with the most immigrant players in north america)

a reply to: Metallicus

This isn't really cancel culture, and it isn't really the truth, either.

Don Cherry is a national treasure when it comes to hockey, but not really respected for having reasonable or truthful opinions on much else.

He's been on a short leash for YEARS, and he just pushed it too far. It was a needless rant.

a reply to: Grambler
Cherry is a bit of a dinosaur, has always begrudged foreign players for their different style of play(more finesse)..no biggie to me, it's just his opinion.

I kinda figured he would get the axe over this, I'm not saying he deserved it, I know he has a lot of respect for vets but he should of stuck to hockey.

originally posted by: vonclod
a reply to: Grambler
Cherry is a bit of a dinosaur, has always begrudged foreign players for their different style of play(more finesse)..no biggie to me, it's just his opinion.

I kinda figured he would get the axe over this, I'm not saying he deserved it, I know he has a lot of respect for vets but he should of stuck to hockey.

I hate to see him lose his job over this.

But I feel the same way about anyone in a similar situation; even as a trump supporter I didnt want to see Kathy Griffin lose her job.

Speaking to the idea of generalizing about who supports veterans.

From my vantage point in rural Pennsylvania, here is what I see (this is purely anecdotal)

Mostly younger people tend to be less vocal in support of veterans, and older people are more vocal, though there are obviously exceotions.

This makes sense with the huge wars that were fought by older generations.

As far as immigrants, I only know a few in this rural town.

They are quite literally some of the biggest patriots and veterans supporters i know.

Obviously don cherry has experienced different situations in canada,

I honestly have no idea how to even begin quantifying veteran support let alone what the demographics on it would be.

Best to avoid over generalizations like this if you are on tv discussing sports I would say.

a reply to: Traptomisprime

[snipped]

Show me a study that cites what percentage of immigrants purchase poppies, and what percentage of non-immigrants purchase poppies. What percentage of Canadians attend Remembrance Day services vs. immigrants.

His rant was personal. It didn't belong on a sports channel.

a reply to: Grambler

I hate to see him lose his job over this.

I agree, his firing is an overreaction..I guess the CBC received a lot of flak from viewers.

I think he is 85, It would of been nice if they just let him go out on a more positive note.

I'm not sure I totally understand who he was actually being "discriminatory" towards, to be honest.

But either way... even I, a person who really doesn't have much of a reputation to speak of to up hold, knows that expressing personal opinions on this particular subject can really disproportionately unhinge certain people.

As a wise man once said... Its a touchy subject, maybe try to just not mention it at all.

Ron Mclean, Cherry’s side kick issued a public apology on Twitter today for his part in it.

I’m assuming they offered Cherry the chance to apologize but I don’t see that going over too well.😂
Cherry apologize ? I don’t think so.

Wow, what a ridiculous thing to fire a legend over. Come to the US, Don! At least half of the country is wise enough to admire and respect you and US teams have owned the NHL for the past quarter century anyway.

Bet he'll be replaced by one from the same lot he criticized.

Happy retirement Don and thanks.

a reply to: Traptomisprime

Wow the racism is strong with you? Pretty un Canadian. Nobody is trying to take over our culture and there are many ways to honor veterans besides wearing a poppy.

originally posted by: burdman30ott6
Wow, what a ridiculous thing to fire a legend over. Come to the US, Don! At least half of the country is wise enough to admire and respect you and US teams have owned the NHL for the past quarter century anyway.

I also think it’s a ridiculous thing to fire a legend over. We’ve become obsessed with pc culture, and are taking away the voices of some of the most infamously outspoken people. Rosanne Barr, Don Cherry...

It may not be in the best interests of a sports related field, but that’s what made Don Cherry famous today. His brutal off the cuff honesty... about more than one topic.

I hope he gets another chance at being a voice for hockey.