Well Don Cherry may finally have done it, his off the cuff style of tossing out words like Swedehearts, Europeans and Frenchmen have him once again under the microscope. And while it's an uneasy feeling in having a government agency investigating what someone says, you can't be terribly surprised at the news.
It's a fine line between freedom of speech and crossing the line to destructive verbiage, and Cherry may have stepped too far last Saturday.
Dyane Adam, the Commissioner of Official Languages is to review Cherry's comments on last weeks Coach's Corner show. During the show which featured a discussion on the wearing of visors, Cherry opined that "most of the guys wearing them are Europeans and the French guys". He previously had stated that only "sucks" would wear visors. His comments have quickly drawn fire, especially in Quebec, with commentators Jacques Demers and Michel Bergeron expressing weariness with Cherry's continual denigrating of Quebec players in the NHL.
Cherry stands alone in this battle, the CBC has said they will co-operate with the Language commissioner fully, stating that they do not agree with the opinions of Mr. Cherry. CBC sports head Nancy Lee, has apparently taken Cherry aside and informed him to stick to hockey issues from now on, a point which Cherry has reportedly agreed to do.
The controversy seems to have taken on a life of it's own, Canadian Parents for French have contacted the CBC president urging the replacement of Cherry. The CBC itself is under fire for editing e mails about Cherry received about the controversy. They even went so far as to delete all references to the topic on their posting board, not wishing to fan the fires.
This is not the first time he's come under fire, and he frequently says that the day will come when the CBC eventually tells him they would like him to leave the building. It will be interesting to see if he has seen the future and possibly helped spur it on with his latest comments.
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