MONTREAL - Hockey icon Don Cherry was removed from his role on the "Coaches Corner" on Monday for comments he made criticizing immigrants for not wearing poppies.
How are Montrealers reacting? Four people who spoke to CTV Montreal were split:
Some didn't feel Cherry's remarks deserved to get him fired.
"I don't think Don Cherry should catch so much flak. I do see where he's coming from. He's an old-timer. As someone who's grown up watching his commentary and hockey in general and as a proud Canadian, I think he's right, and I should get on that [getting a poppy]," one man said.
"He's a staple of our community, and I grew up watching him. And I heard what he said -- Would I say that? Knowing I'm in sales and I've got to be politically correct, I would not say that. But should he lose his job for it? Absolutely not, and it's going to cause bigger problems because people like Don Cherry, who have the same views, are going to feel like there's an attack against them. You can't speak your mind anymore, and that's wrong," said another man.
Others felt Cherry's comments were offensive.
"If he says that he's Canadian well, obviously the landscape in Canada has changed in his lifetime, and the Canada that is now is diverse and is multi-ethnic," one woman said.
"What he said was horrific," one man said. "It's unconscionable. I mean, he's an icon, but that's just wrong."
Some Montreal sports journalists weighed in on the controvery on Monday.
Sports journalist Jack Todd had written numerous columns criticizing some of Cherry's past comments. He welcomed the decision to fire Cherry, but wondered why it took so long.
Montreal Gazette sports writer Stu Cowan said it was Cherry's failure to apologize that likely lead to his firing.
