Former Sportsnet host Tara Slone is accusing Don Cherry of being a “bigot,” but said she liked the former Hockey Night In Canada commentator..“I like(d) Don as a person, because like many of us, he wasn’t just one thing. But I loathed his perspective, more and more as the years went by,” Slone tweeted..Earlier this week, Cherry trended on social media and Slone decided it was time to talk about her relationship with the former NHL coach and commentator. .“I see Don Cherry is trending yet again. I have never weighed in, but I want to now,” tweeted Slone..In 2019, Sportsnet fired Cherry for allegedly accusing immigrants of not wearing poppies on Remembrance Day to honour Canadian soldiers who died keeping Canada free.. Tara Slone .“You people … you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that,” said Cherry on Coach’s Corner. .“These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price.”.Cherry said he was not targeting immigrants and minorities. He never retracted his comments..“I know what I said and I meant it. Still do. Everybody in Canada should wear a poppy to honour our fallen soldiers,” Cherry told The Canadian Press in 2019. .“I did not say minorities, I did not say immigrants. If you watch ‘Coach’s Corner,’ I did not say that. I said ‘everybody.’ And I said ‘you people.’”.“Irish, Scotch, anybody that’s newcomers to Canada, and they should wear a poppy to honour our dead from the past, whether they’re Scotch or Irish or English, or where they come from.”.One fan tweeted Cherry is “NOT a racist” and another tweeted “How is it that Don Cherry got cancelled for saying ‘you guys’ but Trudeau can wear blackface and abuse Canadians and he’s still in power? We live in a sick world.”. cherry-trudeauDon Cherry and Justin Trudeau .Slone said Cherry “tolerated” Hometown Hockey (HTH) which she co-hosted with Ron MacLean..“He sort of tolerated Hometown Hockey but was jealous of Ron (MacLean’s) other job/co-host,” tweeted Slone..“He thought we were soft and woke and focused on too much outside of hockey. HTH wasn’t for everyone, so that didn’t bother me.”.Slone said Cherry “had some good points” over the years..“He had some good points … He has tons of charisma, which is why he stayed on air for so long. But this incessant and nostalgic elevating of Don as some figure who we should look to as a hockey and political leader? Come ON,” tweeted Slone..Slone is happy Cherry is off the air and hopes he is “healthy and doing well.”.“He is a bigot and had no place on national television with a national platform. It wasn’t the poppy incident, it was everything he proclaimed over three decades,” tweeted Slone..“Come. On. Stop with the deification.”
