Weighing in on the Don Cherry controversy. My thoughts on my friend.

(my latest thoughts followed by what I wrote this past Sunday)

I've written and rewritten several editorial pieces on Don Cherry and his dismissal in the last 24hrs but there's so many moving parts I have to keep changing it. Grapes has granted numerous interviews now and unlike the first couple he is now stating that he did speak in error and he was going to either apologize or clarify or some combination of both this Saturday, had he not been let go of course. He has also now said that he did offer to apologize but it was rejected by the powers-that-be. He also alluded to another request that came from Rogers that he said he could not comply with so all that to say, here we are, he's still fired but now the court of public opinion in true Canadian fashion is already starting to forgive and there are numerous petitions some that have some serious participation that are floating around and seemingly are gaining some traction.

'You people...you people who come here.' Essentially the entire matter hinges on these few words. I look at it and see a very defined definition of what those words mean. I think of his track record and his other indiscretions the past forty years and as soon as I heard the comment Saturday night I said, 'oh boy, this could be trouble.'

As I wrote on Sunday before the shocking news of yesterday I felt he'd get some sort of serious wrist slap but he'd never be dismissed. For many others they see nothing wrong with this statement, it's an attack on his right of free speech. He didn't mean what many are inferring and so on. I wrote in response some where deep in one of the two threads I have on Grapes that it's quite clear however you see it, that you feel you are 100% correct in your view of the matter. Whether you think it's the most egregious, vile, discriminatory comment ever or just an 85 year old man who didn't mean it, who only wants the nation to put on a poppy and should be absolved of any accusation of xenophobia or otherwise, it's just Grapes being Grapes. There is no gray area and which ever side you are on you feel you are 100% correct. Rogers broke the tie on that one.

My good friend Dave Bullis told me tonight we should have all been on alert that something was wrong in the hockey universe after the Hab fans in Montreal gave Zdeno Chara an ovation to congratulate him on playing his 1500th game. Good point. I had another thought earlier today but after listening to Grapes backpedaling in the last 2-3 interviews I now think my hypothesis is also in error.

I believe when Steve Simmons reported in August that Grapes was not going to be renewed there was something to that. Don weighed in on twitter 48hrs later and said no, he was going to be back for sure. I think at that time Rogers were considering letting him go and Simmons got hold of that and printed it. I think when Don had his conversation with them and said, hey what's going on they backed down and said, oh, Don, so do you want to do one more year? And at that point knowing 2019-20 was it, it would be his final season he filed away a mandate that anything goes and if it blows up so be it, I'm going down swinging. Then came September and Grapes and Brian Williams announce the end of Grapeline, their syndicated radio hit after 30yrs. Don said, 'it was time.' Another red flag. And then the comment Saturday and his initial refusal to admit any wrong, 'I meant what I said and I'm not backing down'

. It all indicated to me....he was going to go out on his terms after all. And now we've got him in interviews saying those words were not what he meant and he was going to clarify and apologize this Saturday, shooting my theory down really. So now what.

You'd have to think Rogers will stick to this decision but I'll tell you what, if the petitions end up at 7 figures or more I don't know...This could get interesting to see what happens here.

As I wrote on Sunday I consider Grapes a friend, I've known him since 1982 and I've heard it all over the last 37yrs. I stated already what I thought of his comments. Let's see what the next few days brings. I would say highly unlikely there's any reversal here but I never thought he'd be fired in the first place!

BTW if you're going to jump on here keep your vulgarity to yourself. Thank you to the countless number of you who have suggested I try and apply for the open time slot. Very nice of you and much appreciated. And for the record, I intend to send an email to Rogers...…….after I sign one of the petitions for Grapes. Cheers.

AND WHAT I WROTE ON SUNDAY, MY OFFICIAL TAKE OF HIS COMMENTS

Grapes goes offside on this one.

My longtime friend Don Cherry, AKA Grapes is living the worst case scenario for anybody. He’s become his own worst enemy. I’ll couch this by saying that I consider Grapes a friend since first meeting him at the Canadian Collegiate hockey championships in 1982. That’s a long time. I’ve always respected his hockey acumen, his pro Canadian stance, his pro military stance, his pro first responder stance, to a fault at times but I’m not going to be a hypocrite. 90% of what he’s said and how he’s said it over nearly forty years of Coaches Corner I have fully supported. That was a tough one to digest last night.

As most of you know by now Rogers Sportsnet has already issued a statement decrying Don’s comments and giving him a public scolding. At some point in time Grapes will no longer do Coaches Corner. Frankly I kind of always thought he’d take the gig through to illness or death. Even though he’s struggled more and more in recent years with clarity of thought, sentences, etc. there’s still such widespread support for him that I just figured it’s his until he physically can’t do it or doesn’t want to. I love that Grapes ran his annual Remembrance Day video from a military graveyard in France two weeks in a row. I believe he got caught up in his feverish support of wearing a poppy and the general malaise of the population today to wearing one, coupled with his platform, which he knows he has and he misspoke. It was the wrong hill to die on and the wrong way to fight the fight verbally. Stating ‘you people who come here’ singled out immigrants and frankly is a statement that many today are stating is xenophobic and it's hard to argue against that. I think Grapes finishes this season but I suspect the two sides will part ways and call it a day after that.

Ron Maclean is also taking a lot of heat. For sure, I think in hind site he probably wishes he had of got Grapes to single out all Canadians who don't wear a poppy. He has a tough gig. Tougher than the haters realize. He is not there to counter Don as much as he is to steer him. It's a fine line and yes, he missed the mark last night that likely would have alleviated a lot of the vitriol today but, alas, he did not and here we are.

Just as an aside, I attended a birthday party at the Bells Corners Legion yesterday afternoon. There were probably 100 people in attendance. I’d say about 30% had a poppy on. I actually forgot mine as did my friend Tom so upon arrival we bought two more. No big deal. But most were not wearing one. Yes the message should be clear to ALL, regardless of race, colour, creed, wear a poppy on or before November 11. Yet here we were at a Legion no less and the majority were not wearing a poppy. On the bar side, with a pretty good crowd of Legion regulars in attendance I did not see anybody without one. Take from that what you will. Believe me, people in their hearts are so thankful to the veterans who fought in those two conflicts, I know they are. I can’t speak for other places but the crowd at the Manotick cenotaph on November 11 has grown so much in the last decade, it’s just fantastic to see. There is nothing wrong with public figures encouraging the masses to wear a poppy so please buy one but our country is so multi-cultural now, especially Toronto which Grapes singled out, you just can’t say what he said the way he said it.

I may be off by a year but I believe the conclusion of this season will mark 38yrs of Coaches Corner. Don will be 86. It’s been a fabulous run with still a ton of hockey to go this season. But that should be it, in my opinion. Still love ya Grapes, always will but please go out on your shield and on your call. Make this your last season my friend. Anyway, just one man’s opinion.

Liam Maguire