Don Cherry

Last Saturday, my father and I were in the basement together and decided to turn on the TV to see if any interesting programs were playing. Don Cherry appeared on the screen, so we decided to watch his little segment.

Cherry was in the middle of a rant about Alexander Ovechkin, the russian superstar who is currently leading the NHL in scoring and is widely regarded as the league's most exciting player. Cherry said that Ovechkin's way of celebrating was over the top and that it made him think of soccer. He then said, on National Television, that "one day, some guy is going to get him", which was really a call to less-talented NHL players to set out to injure Ovechkin.

Cherry then talked about Steve Mason, a very good goalie currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Cherry said that the Toronto Maple Leafs could have drafted the Ontario-born Mason, but instead went for two Russians. Cherry concluded that this explained Toronto's lack of success. We turned the TV off after that.

In Quebec, there are some noisy hard-line separatists such as Pierre Falardeau who are often criticized, in their own province and in English Canada, for their monochrome vision of Quebec society. English-speaking journalists often point to individuals like Falardeau to demonstrate the dangers of separation.

But between Don Cherry and Falardeau, what's the difference (aside from the fact that Cherry is paid 600 000 $ a year by the CBC for a 10 minute weekly show while Falardeau is despised by most Quebecers)? Cherry is blatantly racist and anti-francophone. He also incited the use of violence of National Television.

The fact that he is still employed by the CBC can suggest two things:

-either he exists as a clown and nobody takes him seriously, in which case he should be asked to put a lid on the racism and violent remarks
-or he caters to a certain chunk of the English-Canadian population which identifies to his comments. This would make him a true Ontario equivalent to Pierre Falardeau. In that case, we should be worried.

Let's hope that the first option is the right one.