Overview

Don Cherry "Poppy" Rant refers to comments made by Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry that were interpreted as anti-immigrant, resulting in his removal from his job at Sportsnet. While commenting on "remembrance poppies," a Canadian garment purchased in support of military servicemen, Cherry stated, "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… These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price." The comments sparked a high number of complaints to Sportsnet, and Cherry's subsequent firing sparked a countermovement of support for Cherry.

Background

On November 9th, 2019, during his weekly "Coach's Corner" segment on Hockey Night In Canada, 85-year-old Don Cherry went on a rant complaining about not seeing many remembrance poppies in support of military servicemen. The moment was captured by Twitter user and journalist Rosa Hwang (shown below).

Developments

The comments were seen as anti-immigrant by online commenters and by people who complained to the Sportsnet network. Alberta Senator Paula Simons tweeted, "We don’t honour the sacrifice of those who died in battle by sowing division or distrust.”^[1] The Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council^[2] reported it was so overloaded with complaints they could not process them all. Cherry's cohost Roger MacClean tweeted apologies for Cherry's remarks, writing, "I see hockey as part of what unites us. I have the honour of travelling across our country to celebrate Canada's game, and our diversity is one of our country's greatest strengths" (shown below). Cherry did not offer an apology for his comments, stating, "I have had my say," though he later said if he could have the moment back, he would have said "everyone" instead of the phrase "you people."

Cherry was then fired by Sportsnet.^[3] This led to a counter-backlash from those supportive of Cherry, a group that included hockey legend Bobby Orr. Orr stated, "What they've done to him up there is disgraceful. It really is." User @RossMcLeanSec wrote in defense of Cherry not kowtowing and reading "liberal talking points" like MacClean did (shown below). The Ringer^[4] wrote that Cherry's firing was long overdue, citing several other controversial remarks Cherry had made in the past.

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