Don Cherrysa国际传媒檚 firing from Hockey Night in Canada for his rant about immigrants wearing Remembrance Day poppies has drawn the ire of thousands of his fans.
Nearly 100,000 people as of noon on Tuesday had signed an online petition to bring the veteran sportscaster back.
sa国际传媒淒on Cherry is a Canadian icon and a symbol of the working class,sa国际传媒� said Western Standard, an Alberta-based online magazine, as it launched the petition on Monday.
sa国际传媒淗e may be politically incorrect, and may not have been as careful as he should have in his remarks, but his offence does not warrant firing.sa国际传媒�
also takes aim at Sportsnet and CBC for giving into sa国际传媒渁 mob of Liberals and Twitter activists.sa国际传媒�
WATCH:
During the Coachsa国际传媒檚 Corner segment last Saturday, Cherry said immigrants donsa国际传媒檛 wear poppies and donsa国际传媒檛 support veterans, referring to newcomers as sa国际传媒測ou people.sa国际传媒�
A number of organizations, including the Canadian Legion and Hockey Night in Canada sponsor Budweiser, were quick to condemn his comments. Co-host Ron MacLean apologized for staying silent and at one point flashing a thumbs-up during Cherrysa国际传媒檚 rant.
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sa国际传媒� The Royal Canadian Legion (@RoyalCdnLegion)
We know many new Canadians understand and welcome the tradition of the red poppy and will continue to educate all citizens about the significance of this powerful symbol.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council was inundated with complaints about both the rant and the dismissal because of it. The regulatory organization said it does not oversee matters related to firings.
Elsewhere, online betting sites are taking wagers for Cherrysa国际传媒檚 replacement, with Brian Burke, the former Vancouver Canucks general manager who brought Henrik and Daniel Sedin to the team, .
sa国际传媒� with a file from The Canadian Press
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