Grapes gets the boot from Hockey Night in Canada over “incendiary” remarks

Edit: See Steve’s article below for a better perspective on Cherry’s comments.


Huwut? Maybe it sounded more divisive as it was broadcast, because it doesn’t read like something terribly inflammatory.

Don Cherry fired from 'Hockey Night in Canada' after discriminatory remarks on TV

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2019/11/11/don-cherry-fired-hockey-night-canada/2567042001/

Whut?

nm

"The Barry Melrose era started years ago."

signed,
ESPN

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/28059815/hockey-icon-don-cherry-fired-immigrant-comments

The article you linked to pulled an OTL and omitted crucial details. Now it makes sense.

What the fuckity fuck? For saying that people should pay a couple of bucks to wear a poppy? That's incendiary?

So what, it's ok for people to have the freedom to express themselves by not wearing it, but it's not ok for someone to have the freedom to criticize those that don't? I kind of think that they just want an excuse to move on from him.

It's interesting, though, in England people get blasted for not wearing a poppy and there have been some controversial cases of companies, sports teams/leagues, etc., forcing people to wear them, and the media usually supports that (some of the media is very conservative there, though). Additionally, when English teams wanted to wear them in European competitions, they weren't allowed to by the body that oversees those competitions. So it's kind of a hot button issue over there, but didn't know that it was such an issue in Canada, too.

MiamiSpartan wrote:What the fuckity fuck? For saying that people should pay a couple of bucks to wear a poppy? That's incendiary?

So what, it's ok for people to have the freedom to express themselves by not wearing it, but it's not ok for someone to have the freedom to criticize those that don't? I kind of think that they just want an excuse to move on from him.

It's interesting, though, in England people get blasted for not wearing a poppy and there have been some controversial cases of companies, sports teams/leagues, etc., forcing people to wear them, and the media usually supports that (some of the media is very conservative there, though). Additionally, when English teams wanted to wear them in European competitions, they weren't allowed to by the body that oversees those competitions. So it's kind of a hot button issue over there, but didn't know that it was such an issue in Canada, too.

His remark was directed at immigrants...I can see why it was offensive.

steveschneider wrote:https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/28059815/hockey-icon-don-cherry-fired-immigrant-comments

The article you linked to pulled an OTL and omitted crucial details. Now it makes sense.

Ok, yeah, I guess I see it, but it still feels like they were looking for an excuse. He's been bashing immigrants (foreign hockey players) for 40 years and they didn't have a problem with that.

MiamiSpartan wrote:

steveschneider wrote:https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/28059815/hockey-icon-don-cherry-fired-immigrant-comments

The article you linked to pulled an OTL and omitted crucial details. Now it makes sense.

Ok, yeah, I guess I see it, but it still feels like they were looking for an excuse. He's been bashing immigrants (foreign hockey players) for 40 years and they didn't have a problem with that.

I haven’t watched hockey night in Canada since the 90s so I’ll take your word for it.

steveschneider wrote:

MiamiSpartan wrote:
Ok, yeah, I guess I see it, but it still feels like they were looking for an excuse. He's been bashing immigrants (foreign hockey players) for 40 years and they didn't have a problem with that.

I haven’t watched hockey night in Canada since the 90s so I’ll take your word for it.

Well, to be fair, I guess I haven't watched it all that regularly in about 20 years (just when NHL Network picks up HNIC sometimes), so maybe he's stopped with that and I didn't noticed it, but that was always one of his biggest schticks, saying how the European players were soft, weak, would play dirty, etc. Hard to imagine him stopping that, as the good ol' Canadians loved him talking aboot how these dirty scoundrels from Europe with their face masks were ruining the sport and stealing their own boys' jobs, eh?

steveschneider wrote:https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/28059815/hockey-icon-don-cherry-fired-immigrant-comments

The article you linked to pulled an OTL and omitted crucial details. Now it makes sense.

Thanks, Steve. That article gives a better context. You’re right, the story I posted got Lavigned.

As I recall that was his schtick wasn't it? He was downright racist to the euro players in the 90's.

AvgMSUJoe wrote:As I recall that was his schtick wasn't it? He was downright racist to the euro players in the 90's.

I guess there's a difference in making bigoted comments about people of color vs hockey players from Sweden?

Yeah, I don't see where the wearing a poppy thing is a bad call. However, I really don't know shit about the Canadian society. If that is indeed an insult, well, what the hell you saying that for? I don't get why people put Dixie flags on their trucks and ride around with them in Macomb county in the summer. I get it's everyone's right. I so get it's the first amendment. For the life of me, my mom would always ask, if you know i'ts upsetting the person, why would you do it, as a general question at dinner in some sort of life lesson that I'm not sure worked or not. But I get the premise. Why say or do something because it's "your right" if you know you're upsetting a group of people? It's rhetorical. I know the answer.

Cherry is 85 and probably thought he could never be fired.

He questioned the patriotism of Canadian immigrants because they weren’t wearing the poppy commemorating Canadian veterans who died in the World Wars.

I’m old enough to remember the VFW guys out on street corners, meeting shoppers as they left stores getting donations for their “Buddy Poppy” program. That practice has about disappeared in the GR area.

Cherry screwed up because LaBatts is a major NHL sponsor (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev), that want to sell their beer to everybody and because of the influx of immigrants from non- hockey playing nations, the NHL needs that group to embrace Canada’s national sport rather than losing them to growth in soccer and basketball.

It's not going to end well when you start your rant with "You people".

Yeah I remember Ross Pero when he spoke in front of the N double Ay you people in the 92 election.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-sG6u_Sats