• Home
  • Mail
  • News
  • Finance
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Search
  • Mobile
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content
    • Mail
    Entertainment Home
    Follow Us
    • The It List
    • TV
    • Movies
    • Celebrity
    • Music
    • Live Celeb Chats
    • Videos

    Don Cherry fired after 'You people' Coach's Corner rant

    Yahoo Sports Staff
    Yahoo Sports CanadaNovember 11, 2019
    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    The people have spoken.

    Don Cherry’s 38-year run on Coach’s Corner and Hockey Night in Canada came to an unceremonious and wholly justified stop Monday. The loud-mouthed, brash, opinionated broadcaster has been fired by Sportsnet for targeting Canadian immigrants with racist and divisive remarks on last Saturday’s broadcast, and for refusing to apologize or see the wrongs of his actions.

    “Sports brings people together – it unites us, not divides us," read a statement from Sportsnet president Bart Yabsley. “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.

    “Don is synonymous with hockey and has played an integral role in growing the game over the past 40 years. We would like to thank Don for his contributions to hockey and sports broadcasting in Canada.”

    Cherry isn’t backing down from his stance, and refused to admit the comments were racist.

    “I know what I said and I meant it,” Cherry said via the Toronto Sun’s Joe Warmington. “Everybody in Canada should wear a poppy to honour our fallen soldiers....

    “To keep my job, I cannot be turned into a tamed robot.”

    On the basis of his hockey analysis alone, many have moved on from viewing Cherry as a credible source for insight into the sport. It’s been more schtick than substance for many years now and for that reason his anti-immigrant rant could have been avoided, right along with the crash-and-burn ending to what was a Canadian television institution.

    Cherry began his broadcasting career in 1980, and started co-hosting the Coach’s Corner segment with Ron MacLean in 1986. Cherry and MacLean were both inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2015.

    TORONTO, CANADA - APRIL 13: Hockey commentator Don Cherry does a television interview before the Tampa Bay Rays MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 13, 2015 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
    View photos
    Don Cherry is off the air. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

    Prior to his work in front of the camera, Cherry bounced around the minor leagues as a player, suiting up for one playoff game in the NHL with the Boston Bruins in 1955.

    After his playing career ended, he enjoyed a successful run as a coach with both the AHL’s Rochester Americans and NHL’s Bruins. In five seasons behind Boston’s bench, he accumulated a 231-105-64 record, losing twice in the Stanley Cup Final.

    More NHL coverage from Yahoo Sports

    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    What to Read Next

    • Blake Shelton Jokes He ‘Was a Jerk’ Before He Started Dating Gwen Stefani

      People
    • Codeine, 41 bags of marijuana found in luggage when rapper Juice WRLD collapsed: Report

      Yahoo Celebrity
    • Who’s the Man Who Slapped a Reporter in Georgia Live on Air?

      Inside Edition CBS
    • Elizabeth Hurley Names Matthew McConaughey as Her Best On-Screen Kiss

      Entertainment Tonight
    • 'Star Wars' actress Daisy Ridley under fire for denying she has 'privilege,' comparing herself to co-star John Boyega

      Yahoo Celebrity
    • Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson dead at 61

      Yahoo Music
    • Clint Eastwood & Warner Bros Threatened With ‘Richard Jewell’ Defamation Suit From Atlanta Newspaper

      Deadline
    • Incredible Footage Shows Python, Honey Badger and a Pair of Jackals Viciously Fighting in Botswana

      People
    • 'Bachelorette' star J.P. Rosenbaum diagnosed with rare autoimmune disorder

      Yahoo Celebrity
    • Shania Twain Wasn't Joking About Post Malone Collab — but 'If He Doesn't Want It, No Problem'

      People
    • The Kardashian-Jenner's Go-To Dermatologist Reveals the Cosmetic Procedures Tons of Stars Are Doing

      People
    • Nick Jonas Says Priyanka Chopra Is 'Jealous' His Brothers Got To Attend the 'Jumanji' Premiere (Exclusive)

      Entertainment Tonight
    • Jillian Michaels warns of 'glamorizing' obesity: 'We’re politically correct to the point of endangering people'

      Yahoo Celebrity
    • Gwen Stefani Asks to 'Cut the Cameras' After Breaking Down in Tears During 'The Voice' Semifinals

      Entertainment Tonight
    • Newlywed Virginia Couple Missing After Leaving Voicemail About Being Burned by New Zealand Volcano

      People
    • Khloe Kardashian Reveals Kendall and Kylie Jenner Have Different 'KUWTK' Contracts Than Their Sisters

      Entertainment Tonight

    Read the articles of impeachment against President Trump

    jim: It is now up to the people if they want these people making these decisions for them after an election or not !! Vote in november and let them know

    Join the Conversation
    1 / 5

    1.6k

    • Warner Bros. says newspaper out to 'malign' Richard Jewell by requesting  disclaimer for female reporter

      Entertainment Weekly
    • Ryan Reynolds says he hired actress from viral Peloton ad because backlash can be 'alienating'

      Yahoo Celebrity
    • Pregnant Ala. Mom Is Killed in Front of Her Kids in Grocery Store: 'Beautiful Soul, Inside and Out'

      People
    • John Legend confesses to star contestant Katie Kadan: 'You deserve more than "The Voice"'

      Yahoo Music
    • Eminem Says He 'Demands an Apology' After Nick Cannon's New Diss Track Featuring Suge Knight

      Entertainment Tonight
    • Amid flurry of Saudi reforms, mocktails on order in execution square

      Reuters
    • Prince Andrew Has 'Embarrassed the Family' and Friends Are Concerned for Princess Beatrice, Source Says

      Entertainment Tonight
    • Hear Monaco's Royal Twins' Voices for Very First Time in Video for Grandma on Their 5th Birthday!

      People
    • Nick Cannon Responds to 'Grandpa' Eminem’s Latest Mariah Carey Diss, Invites Him to Wild 'N Out

      People
    • Vanna White was 'very nervous' to host 'Wheel of Fortune' after Pat Sajak's emergency surgery

      Yahoo TV
    • Fox News’ Sean Hannity Says Howard Stern ‘Does Not Understand’ Power of Believing in God

      The Wrap
    • Khloé Kardashian Reveals What Happens to the Leftover Food from Her Family's Extravagant Parties

      People
    • Tyler Cameron Removes All Photos of Ex Hannah Brown from His Instagram

      People
    • Sean Lennon Posts Family Instagram Photo on 39th Anniversary of Father John’s Murder

      People
    • Ryan Reynolds Narrowly Escapes a Collapsing Barricade at Comic-Con Experience in Brazil

      People
    • ‘Richard Jewell’ Faces Boycott Calls Over ‘Egregiously Sexist’ Depiction of Reporter

      The Wrap