Don Cherry Fired by SN - Poll Added

[Reggie Dunlop]

Bobby Orr also endorsed Alan Eagleson's HHOF inclusion. How did that work out?

[Split98]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I work with a guy from Saudi Arabia. Last year was his first remembrance day in Canada. He asked what the red flower on my jacket was, so I explained to him about the symbolism it has from Belgium and Northern France, and the significance of 11:00am on Nov 11th.

The next day he'd bought his entire families poppies to wear

This needs to be more of the conversation around this IMO

Do they know what this means in our culture? Have we told them?

This jives so much more with my experience with immigrants. I'm a pretty happy guy with Canada, but I usually can't hold a candle to their patriotism.

[Saqe]

An outsiders view, two points that I'll make

1. Criticizing minorities, just as any other group, should absolutely be on the table. What matters is the critique real or not. However, criticizing minorities is automatically considered racism by some mostly with far leftist ideologies and this is especially blown out of proportion in the current outrage culture. And these people are the ones who scream the loudest.

2. Don Cherry in my opinion, is a senile man. He also comes out as a guy who is just used to bulldoze his opinion through. He's most likely a racist or discriminates to some degree, not getting into semantics here.

DC's main point clearly is, to me at least, to criticize people for not being respectful enough towards the ones fallen in military service. But in his true fashion, he delivers the message with a fully loaded barrel. This isn't something new. But depending on your political views, level of patriotism and other factors, his critique can be seen being anywhere on the axis of being important to being meaningless. Him singling out one specific group is outright stupid, no matter where you are in the political spectrum.

I don't know what the right action here should be but like someone said before, I'd personally hate to see a guy fired over this. Stupidity should be allowed but not tolerated in a free society.

[Yoho]

It’s too bad his family can’t talk him out of doing this anymore. He’s damaging his legacy and this stuff will be all that some people remember of him which is sad.

[Hot_Flatus]

It's borderline insane how many people are working up more of an issue over this than the Trudeau blackface scandal. Our country literally just okay-ed the fact our PM wore blackface 3,4 maybe 5 times and voted him back into office.

Now the wave shifts and the masses are the judge, jury and executioner for Don, who made another idiotic, insensitive statement, but imo is one that was nothing more than stupidity and senility rolled into one. I'll never understand the hypocrisy of our society when it can turn the cheek one way (for the most important office in the country) and not the other (for an aging idiotic broadcaster).

It's sad any of these situations are still arising anywhere in our country, but I will never understand how a sports broadcaster is somehow being held to a higher public standard than our PM.

[EM11]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I bought 10 poppy's today at $5 a piece at Sunridge mall and handed them out to what I think were most likely immigrants or at least their parents were(I didn't ask), I did asked them to wear it in memory of the fallen Canadian soldiers that gave this country freedom when it mattered most, one guy gave me a hug with a thank you and another lady blessed me....made my day.

Alexa, tell me a story that definitely did not happen.

[jmac98]

Originally Posted by Yoho

It’s too bad his family can’t talk him out of doing this anymore. He’s damaging his legacy and this stuff will be all that some people remember of him which is sad.

We all want to fondly remember him hosting VHS Rock Em Sock Em’s as a kid telling players to get out of the trolley tracks, but that was 30+ years ago. What you see ever since is simply a product of who he is, and is therefore rightfully a part of his legacy for perceived better or worse.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

It's borderline insane how many people are working up more of an issue over this than the Trudeau blackface scandal. Our country literally just okay-ed the fact our PM wore blackface 3,4 maybe 5 times and voted him back in the office.

Suddenly the wave shifts and the masses are the judge, jury and executioner for Don, who made another idiotic statement, but imo is one that was nothing more than stupidity and senility rolled into one.

Trudeau apologized _ has Cherry? Trudeau also has done a number of things for immigrants and refugees. So voters take those into account as well. Finally, voters think about a whole host of issues. In any event I suspect more people took Trudeau to task than are criticizing Cherry.

Second, is your point really that CBC should continue to employ a stupid and senile man who makes idiotic statements?

[Buff]

Originally Posted by Reaper

I've had a poppy pin centre for about 5 years now and buy a new poppy every year.

http://poppypins.com/

My wife bought them from the Legion in Lethbridge for $4 each. Try the one in Calgary and get them early September because they sell out quick.

Saves a lot of money by skipping that website.

It works so well.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Trudeau apologized _ has Cherry? Trudeau also has done a number of things for immigrants and refugees. So voters take those into account as well. Finally, voters think about a whole host of issues. In any event I suspect more people took Trudeau to task than are criticizing Cherry.

Second, is your point really that CBC should continue to employ a stupid and senile man who makes idiotic statements?

A thinly veiled apology from one person or the other is completely disingenuous when you should expect them to carry themselves in a much better way to begin with. It certainly isn't a get out of jail free card for actions like this and shouldn't be viewed as such. I have a hard time ignoring the fact that an irrelevant broadcasters comments are kicking up a comparable amount of clout to a similar, yet worse incident from the PM.

[CroFlames]

In a vacuum, nothing wrong with his comments IMO.

However, in this day and age where people have proven to be lemmings, it stokes the fires of intolerance that were ignited by the Orange goblin. Trump has given rise to casual racism and intolerance in the mainstream, and there are a whole legion of Canadians who agree with him to the point that they will betray their own conservatism (and often times Christianity) to agree with him.

What Don said is dangerously close to intolerant, and therefore fires up the already frenzied anti-immigrant crowd. The problem is in his wording, not his message.

[Flamenspiel]

I think it’s best to focus on what he actually said and wether or not it’s true. I am not so sure, for instance it’s more likely that Sikh’s would wear a poppy because many of them fought and died as part of Britsin’s Indian Army contingent that involved around 2 million men. This in contrast to Ireland that remained neutral during WWII. That being said, many Irish did enlist in the British army and fought in WWII.

There are definetly nuances to this issue that are being overlooked in favour of the rush to judgement that seems to be the fashion of the time right now.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

A thinly veiled apology from one person or the other is completely disingenuous when you should expect them to carry themselves in a much better way to begin with. It certainly isn't a get out of jail free card for actions like this and shouldn't be viewed as such. I have a hard time ignoring the fact that an irrelevant broadcasters comments are kicking up a comparable amount of clout to a similar, yet worse incident from the PM.

First of all, “comparable amount of clout” just isn’t true. The Trudeau stuff went on for weeks. Second, even a disingenuous apology trumps a non-apology, assuming you can just say you know what Trudeau was thinking. Now, It’s only been a day so lets see what Cherry does. Third, you were referring to voters before, when you know that voting involves a whole lot more.

[CMPunk]

Regardless of what Don Cherry said, he at least brought awareness to the Poppy Fund and Remembrance day. I haven't been out much and when I do I never have cash, so this thread at least got me to donate to MyPoppy.ca for both my Grandfathers who have since passed.

[troutman]

IT’S TIME FOR BRIAN BURKE TO REPLACE DON CHERRY ON HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
Don Cherry's offensive comments during Saturday's Coach's Corner segment should be the final straw. It's time to move on.

In 1988, two years after Cherry began his run on Coach’s Corner, Jimmy the Greek had some vile things to say about African Americans that got him fired from CBS Sports. That was more than 30 years ago. What Cherry said has never had a place in the public discourse, but in 2019 it’s inexcusable. Not including his one season when he ran the Mississauga IceDogs of the Ontario League into the ground, it has been almost 40 years since Cherry stood behind a bench. His run on Coach’s Corner after a stint of being an “average coach” (Harry Sinden’s words, not mine) was longer than anyone could have imagined, but it’s clearly time to put an end to it.

[hockeynews] https://thehockeynews.com/news/artic...ight-in-canada

I have to wonder if Cherry is prepared to speak like this on national television, how ugly must be his real thoughts when not under the spotlight?

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Trudeau apologized _ has Cherry? Trudeau also has done a number of things for immigrants and refugees. So voters take those into account as well. Finally, voters think about a whole host of issues. In any event I suspect more people took Trudeau to task than are criticizing Cherry.

Second, is your point really that CBC should continue to employ a stupid and senile man who makes idiotic statements?

I don't disagree with what you're saying but Don Cherry is not a CBC employee.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

I don't disagree with what you're saying but Don Cherry is not a CBC employee.

OK, HNIC or Sportsnet then. Or whatever entity holds his contract.

BTW, I now read that Cherry isn’t going to apologize.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

A thinly veiled apology from one person or the other is completely disingenuous when you should expect them to carry themselves in a much better way to begin with. It certainly isn't a get out of jail free card for actions like this and shouldn't be viewed as such. I have a hard time ignoring the fact that an irrelevant broadcasters comments are kicking up a comparable amount of clout to a similar, yet worse incident from the PM.

One happened 2 days ago... the other happened 20 years ago.

I’m just not sure why some people are so hung up on this comparison. You all have the ability to consider context. I don’t think this is the reason people want Cherry gone, it’s the fact that it’s one incident in a continuing pattern. TONS of people wanted Trudeau gone, he probably lost votes for it, but just like this situation you’re not going to get majority buy in because you think it matters.

For the record, I think Cherry should go, but not because of this. It’s just because he’s not very good any more. I also think Trudeau should go, and not because of the blackface incident.

I think if this is THE reason you think Cherry needs to be fired, or if you’re the type who is still talking about Trudeau’s blackface, you’re no better than each other and I don’t think people should be obsessing or making decisions over such petty things (especially when both situations have so much more context to make an informed decision over).

[Steve Bozek]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

OK, HNIC or Sportsnet then. Or whatever entity holds his contract.

BTW, I now read that Cherry isn’t going to apologize.

Isn’t he employed by those highly competent guys at Sportsnet?

[bluejays]

As a minority, here's my take (not that it supersedes any non-minority's say in Don's comments).


The comment "you people" is pretty xenophobic to be more precise because of his history and to some degree the history of the phrase. It's not racist unless he's mentioning specific races, so unless he were to explain himself, I'm not jumping to conclusions and calling him a racist. I guess we're all about going into outrage culture rage mode when someone says something that they don't agree with, and certainly I found his comments distasteful, but to be clear, he was espousing his theory that immigrants (wherever from), don't support troops from years past. It's his theory. Is it right or wrong? That's for some marketing company to verify if his theory is correct or not. There are so many reasons for not wearing one though.

If an immigrant hasn't understood the history of the war
If there's financial hardship
No need to virtue signal, but made a contribution
Fell off

Frankly though, does wearing a poppy make you more of a citizen than someone without? Why doesn't the government support vets more instead of relying on citizen contributions to the point where it's shameful if you don't wear a poppy? Frankly, personally I like Cherry for nostalgia reasons, but I detest bringing any politics to sporting events. Don does that too much recently and it becomes washroom break at that point. I hope he doesn't lose his job over this because it's not fire-able IMO. Personally, I'd do away with anthems at the start of the game too but that's just to get any politics out of the way - this isn't the Olympics.