I once thought Don Cherry and his rants were -harmless fun. His outspoken, colorful demeanour have become the hightlight to many a dull hockey game. His view that face visors are for wimps may even have some validity. His critique of European hockey players has contributed to a pride that Canada is still number one. But some of his wise-ass remarks on Coach's Corner have crossed the line and are way offside.Cherry's position as a highly visible television personality carries with it some responsibility which he has handled poorly. In a country where a high proportion of elite athletes are French Canadian it's easy to understand how his comments could be taken as offensive. There are national sensibilities that Cherry does not seem to grasp. The outcry against some anti French remarks on the recent visit by Conan O'Brian's 'Late Night' illustrates my point. It turned a very positive visit by a popular American entertainer into one which showed a great deal of damaging insensitivity. It was like Mike Bullard doing his show in New York City dissing Jews and Hispanics.
Much more troubling though have been Cherry's on air remarks about the war in Iraq. He has suggested – as if it were a hockey game – that we should back our friends, the Americans no matter what – in a war that the Canadian government and the majority of Canadians considered unjustified. War is not a game. In foreign affairs Cherry is strictly 'bush' league and Coach's Corner is no place to be airing such views. Read More......
