Tempers flare at pro-Don Cherry rally
Posted November 13, 2019 2:49 pm.
Last Updated November 13, 2019 5:01 pm.
About 20 people gathered outside Rogers headquarters on Wednesday afternoon to protest Don Cherry’s dismissal from Hockey Night In Canada following a controversial poppy rant during last Saturday’s Coach’s Corner segment.
Some Cherry supporters stood silently on the sidewalk with Canadian flags while others raised placards in the air. One sign said ‘Cancel culture is wrong,’ while another said, ‘Rogers cancels Don, we cancel Rogers.’
A small group — including one yellow vest — rallies peacefully outside Sportsnet head office to protest the firing of Don Cherry for his “you people” comments on-air. A few tell me Cherry was wrong to say that, but most say he did nothing wrong at all. @680NEWS @CityNews pic.twitter.com/ql19dqYSc8
— Mark Douglas (@DouglasCityNews) November 13, 2019
At one point things became tense when protestors accused a man who was recording them of being an undercover police officer, sparking some heated exchanges that were captured on video by 680 NEWS.
The event was organized in the aftermath of Sportsnet’s decision to fire Cherry after he seemed to suggest that immigrants don’t wear poppies.
“You people …that come here … 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 while co-host Ron MacLean listened without interjecting.
“These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price.”
Cherry has insisted he was not criticizing immigrants, telling CityNews in a one-on-one interview Tuesday that he misspoke and should have said “everybody” instead of “you people.”
“I meant ‘everybody,’ but I said the wrong thing … if that’s the way people want to take it, there’s nothing I can do about it,” Cherry argued.
He also said he would have apologized for his choice of words if he was given the chance to go back on-air.
Rogers Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications, is the parent company of Sportsnet which also owns this website.
