Hockey Night Canada해설가DonCherry, 이민자들 Poppy착용 비하발언으로 해고,사과할 생각없다. 그의 저변에는...

"Don Cherry"가 인종차별적인 논평을 해서, 지난 40여년간 자리를 지키고 있었던 "하키해설가"로서의 자리에서 해고를 당하는 사건이 있었다.

"Hockey Night in Canada"하면, 토론토가 Home base인 Maple Leafs Hockey팀을 대부분의 캐네디언들, 특히 젊은이들은 그를 하키의 ICON으로 연상하게된다. 건장한 체구에 하얀 턱수염과 콧수염이 인상적인, 85세의 노장이다.

평상시에도 거칠은 논평으로 자주 구설수에 올랐던, 하키에서는 전설적이 존재였지만, 이번에는 그를 고용하고 있었던, "SportsNet network"에서 인종차별적 논평으로  해고(Firing)을 당한 것이다.

사연인즉, 어제 Remembrance Day이 추모식이 있었는데, 매주토요일에 있는 Hockey Night 방송에서, "새로 이민온 사람들은 캐나다를 지키기위해 목숨까지 바친 역전의 용사들을 추모하기위해 Poppy Pin을 달지 않는다. 값이 불과 1-2달러 정도인데... 그분들 덕택에 우리가 지금 이렇게 평화롭게 자유롭게 삶을 즐기고 있잖은가?" 라는 요지의 Ment를 한것이다.

특히 Mississaga와 Toronto는 이민자의 숫자가 전체인구의 50%을 넘는 다민족들이 모여 사는 도시이다.  그는 유색이민자를 꼭 집어서 논평한것은 아니라고 항변한다. 그러나 토론토와 미시사가는 절반이상이 유색이민자들이 거주하고 있는 곳이다.

SportsNet network사장, Bart Yabsley 씨는 그를 해고하기전에, 방송에서 논평한 Poppy사건에 대해, 잘못 논평한점을 인정하고, 사과를 하라. 그렇치 않으면 너는 더이상 같이 일할수 없다"라고 찬스를 주었지만, Don Cherry는 그럴생각이 없다고 잘라말했었다.

이런 논평을 했다는것은 그가 평상시에 이민자 특히 유색인종에 대한 편견이 있었지 않았나?라는 심한 의심이 들게한다. 
Poppy를 대부분의 주민들이, 캐나다의 자유와 평화를 지키기위해 목숨까지 바쳐 헌신한 역전의 용사들을 추모하는, 캐나다의 연례행사로 인식하고 라펠에 또는 가슴에 달고 다닌다. 

나같은 경우도 항상 구입해서 달고 다니지만, 때로는 자켓을 바꾸어 입을 경우, Poppy를 바꾸어 다는것을 잊고 그냥 밖으로 나갈때가 있다. 그럴때 나는 돈 1-2달러가 아까워 Poppy구입을 안하는 이민자로 보여질수 밖에 없었을 것이다. 허긴 내 실수니까, 그리고 남에게 보이기위해서 Poppy를 꼭 부착해야한다는 겉모습을 갖추기위한 제스처는 아니기에...나는....

어쨋던 이번 논평사고로, Don Cherry는 일자리를 잃었고, 그의 말을 빌린다면, 실업자가 된셈인데, 그는 현재 85세의 노인이다.  

지금이라도 말의 실수를 인정하고, 사과를 하면, 그에 대해서 좋은 이미지를 갖었었던 많은 사람들로 부터 사랑을 받으면서 유종의 미를 거둘수 있었을 텐데....

TORONTO -- Hockey broadcaster Don Cherry has suggested that he was given an opportunity to stay with Sportsnet after making widely derided comments about immigrants and poppies.

“I could’ve stayed on if I wanted to and knuckled under, and turned into a simp, but that’s not my style,” Cherry said Monday night in an interview with Toronto radio station Newstalk 1010. “I’m unemployed now after 38 years. It’s kind of strange to be unemployed, halfway through the season. And of all days Remembrance Day. It’s sad.”

Cherry was fired Monday, nearly 40 years after he began working for “Hockey Night in Canada,” as part of the fallout from Saturday night’s broadcast.

During his “Coach’s Corner” segment, the 85-year-old Cherry claimed that immigrants do not wear poppies or support veterans.

"You people … that come here, whatever it is, 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," he said. "These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price."

Since his firing, he hasn’t elaborated on what he could have done to remain at the “Coach’s Corner” desk, but told Newstalk 1010 that “there’s no doubt about it” that he could have kept his job.

“If I had gone on and said a few things and done a few things, I definitely would have been back,” he said. “If you’re not going to be yourself on television, then what’s the sense in doing it?”

His remarks, which are the latest in a decades-long string of controversial comments from the popular commentator, were widely criticized. Sportsnet network president Bart Yabsley called Cherry’s comments “discriminatory” on Sunday and announced Monday that he would be no longer be on air.

“Following further discussions with Don Cherry after Saturday night’s broadcast, it has been decided it is the right time for him to immediately step down,” Yabsley said in a statement. “During the broadcast, he made divisive remarks that do not represent our values or what we stand for.”

Yabsley also thanked the 85-year-old Cherry for “his contributions to hockey and sports broadcasting in Canada.”

CHERRY SOUNDS OFF

Speaking to Newstalk 1010’s Barb DiGiulio, Cherry referred to his comments as “one little slip,” and referenced “all the guys that have gone” in the entertainment business.

“It is the most toughest business in the world,” he said. “You make one little slip and you’re gone. After 38 years, which is kind of tough to do, but you got to be tough in this business. You can’t whine about it. You’re gone, you’re gone.”

Cherry attempted to clarify his remarks in interviews Monday, saying that he did not single out visible minorities. His comments have widely been interpreted as singling out new immigrants. He specifically mentioned the cities of Toronto and Mississauga, Ont., both of which have visible minority populations of over 50 per cent, and contrasted them to smaller towns, which are predominantly white.

"I did not say minorities, I did not say immigrants. If you watch 'Coach's Corner,' I did not say that. I said 'everybody.' And I said 'you people,’” he told The Canadian Press.

Elaborating on Newstalk 1010, he said his comments were meant to refer to “everyone.”

“You make one little comment like ‘you people’ and you know how it picks up,” he said. “It could have been anybody. It could have been the Irish, it could have been Scots, it could have been English.”

Cherry stands by his remarks. “That’s the way I feel and I’m not changing it and I don’t regret a thing,” he said on Newstalk 1010.

“I still feel that everybody in this country that likes our way of life -- these beautiful people gave their lives in their 20s and in their teens for our way of life -- they should wear a poppy. If that’s offensive, then there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Cherry said nobody said anything about the comments to him before he left the studio Saturday night, and it wasn’t until Sunday that he caught wind of any dissatisfaction from Sportsnet heads. “Sunday I knew they were unhappy, but today was the day they lowered the boom,” he said Monday.

Ron MacLean, the longtime co-host who flashed a thumbs-up sign at the end of Saturday’s segment, apologized Sunday for staying silent during Cherry’s remarks.

Cherry told DiGiulio that he stills considers MacLean a friend, though he wasn’t happy to see the apology. “The only thing I can say about that is I’m disappointed. I think anybody that knew Ron was disappointed. That’s all I’ll say about that,” he said.

Asked what he would be doing next Saturday night, Cherry said that he would “be sitting, having a couple of beers, watching and wondering who’s going to be on at the end of the first period.”

PUNISH OR PRAISE

Cherry’s comments were swiftly panned online, but also received some support, with the hashtags “Don Cherry Is Right” and “Boycott Rogers” (the media group that owns Sportsnet) trending on Twitter in parts of the country Tuesday.

“Naturally, the guys that are for me and the women that are for me, they say ‘Way to go Don,’ and the people that are against me, they took it the way they wanted to take it,” he said of his remarks.

“Coach’s Corner” has been a fixture for more than 30 years during intermissions on “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcasts. CBC produced the show until 2014, when it was taken over by Sportsnet. CBC, which still airs the show but does not earn any revenue from it, issued a statement Monday saying the public broadcaster “respect[s] Sportsnet’s decision that this is the right time for Don to step down.”

Cherry has periodically attracted controversy for making comments deriding Europeans, French-Canadians and people who ride bicycles. In 2003, his segment was placed on a seven-second delay after he criticized Canada’s decision not to join the Iraq War.

Some hockey journalists were less surprised by Cherry’s firing than by his making it this long without losing his job.

“It’s been a long time coming, several decades in the making I would say,” said Ken Campbell, a senior writer with The Hockey News, on CTV’s Your Morning Tuesday. “This was not an isolated incident. It wasn’t a one-off transgression. It was a pattern of behavior that we’ve seen over the past 25, 30 years.”

For many, Saturday’s comments seemed to be a bridge too far. The Canada Broadcast Standards Council issued a plea to people to stop reporting Cherry’s comments to them, saying it had already received more complaints than it was able to process.

Parminder Singh, the original play-by-play announcer on the Punjabi-language edition of Hockey Night in Canada, said he considered Cherry an idol as he was growing up and once he entered the business.

He said he wants Canadians to understand that freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences, and that he wished Cherry had said something less divisive.

“It’s important for us to recognize that … what we’re honouring, the veterans – they come from all different backgrounds and cultures,” he said. “It should have been done in more of an embraceful manner.”

Several organizations that have traditionally supported Cherry issued statements Monday asserting agreement with his firing.

“While we recognize Don Cherry’s four decades of service broadcasting NHL games, today’s decision was a justifiable response to his comments on Saturday night,” said the National Hockey League.

The Royal Canadian Legion said that it appreciates Cherry’s “passionate support for veterans” but found his remarks “hurtful,” while Budweiser – the parent company of “Coach’s Corner” sponsor Labatt – called them “clearly inappropriate.”

Fired Coach’s Corner host Don Cherry says he could have stayed on the program had he agreed to walk back comments he made about immigrants, but he refused.

“Hey listen, I’m not whining or anything. I’m just saying, I could have stayed on if I wanted to and knuckled under and turned into a simp, but that’s not my style. I’d rather go out with my shield,” the 85-year-old told radio station Newstalk 1010 in an interview Monday night.

The long-time hockey commentator was fired from his role at Coach’s Corner over his comments last Saturday targeting immigrants who he said did not properly honour Canada’s veterans, broadcaster Sportsnet confirmed Monday.

“You people love, that come here -- whatever-- 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, with Coach’s Corner co-host Ron McLean looking on. "These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price."On his program on Saturday, Cherry said that new people in his hometown of Mississauga and those who live in downtown Toronto don’t wear poppies around Remembrance Day. He contrasted them with those who live in "small towns."

On Monday afternoon, which happened to be Remembrance Day, Sportsnet President Bart Yabsley said "following further discussions with Don Cherry after Saturday night's broadcast, it has been decided it is the right time for him to immediately step down."

"During the broadcast, he made divisive remarks that do not represent our values or what we stand for," Yabsley said.

Cherry has hosted the Coach’s Corner program since 1982.

In his interview Monday night, Cherry said that “If I had gone on and said a few things and done a few things I definitely would have been back.”

He denied that his comments targeted any particular group.

“It could have been anybody, it could have been Irish, it could have been the Scots, it could have been the English, it could have been anybody,” Cherry said.

He added he stands by his insistence that everyone should wear a poppy.

“What I meant was everybody, everybody and I mean everybody should be wearing a poppy to honour our fallen soldiers who gave their lives for our way of life.”

However he acknowledged that after he made his comments, he realized that people would likely see things differently.

“Once you say ‘you people’ you know you’re in trouble,” Cherry said.

Canada's broadcast watchdog was inundated with so many complaints about Cherry's remarks that on Monday it asked the public to stop sending them.

Cherry’s comments were panned by most on social media, including the mayors of most large Canadian cities, and provincial and federal politicians.

Sportsnet, the National Hockey League and McLean, each apologized for Cherry’s comments, with McLean saying he felt bad he did not interject while Cherry was speaking.

Cherry said Monday night that he was “disappointed” by McLean’s apology.

“The only thing I can say about that is I’m disappointed and I think anybody who knows Ron is disappointed,” Cherry said. “I still consider him as a friend. I’m not going to dump on him. He’s got his job and that’s the way it goes.”

Cherry, 85, played professional hockey from 1954 until 1969, and then coached the Boston Bruins from 1974 to 1979.

He then coached the Colorado Rockies for one season, from 1979 to 1980.

In his 37 years with Coach’s Corner and in other public appearances in support of that role, Cherry rarely shied away from revealing his controversial politics.

In 2010, Cherry appeared at Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s inauguration, sporting a pink suit.

“I'm wearing pinko for all the pinkos out there that ride bicycles and everything," he said at the event, later saying that left-leaning politicians in the city and their supporters “scrape the bottom of the barrel.”

In 2013, he said that he didn’t believe female reporters should be able to access locker rooms of professional male athletes.

In 2016, in the wake of U.S. President Trump’s election, he told “left wing kook” Americans not to move to Canada.

In 2017, he criticized the kneeling protests that circulated through the National Football League, where players kneeled during the Star Spangled Banner to protest the treatment of black people by American police, mocking media coverage of the movement.

The CBC, which airs Hockey Night in Canada but no longer owns the rights to the program, said Monday it respected Sportsnet's decision.

"Don Cherry's remarks on Saturday night were divisive, discriminatory and offensive, and we respect Sportsnet's decision that this is the right time for Don to step down."

Also Budweiser, which owns Labatt Breweries who sponsor Coach's Corner, said they voiced concerns about Cherry's comments after they were made on Saturday.

"The comments made Saturday on Coach's Corner were clearly inappropriate and divisive, and in no way reflect Budweiser's views," Todd Allen, Labatt's vice president of marketing, said Monday. "As a sponsor of the broadcast, we immediately expressed our concerns and respect the decision which was made by Sportsnet today."

Saying it’s the first time he’s been unemployed in 38 years, Cherry acknowledged he’ll likely feel “strange” next Saturday.

Cherry called broadcasting “the toughest business in the world” because “you make one little slip and you’re gone.”

“You’ve got to be tough in this business and if you’re tough you can’t whine.”

https://www.cp24.com/news/after-being-fired-by-sportsnet-cherry-says-he-refused-to-backtrack-on-poppy-comments-1.4680224

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/i-don-t-regret-a-thing-don-cherry-speaks-out-on-his-firing-and-ron-maclean-1.4680203