Don Cherry's departure from Hockey Night In Canada has left a bad taste in his fans' mouths. There have been expressions of outrage on social media concerning Cherry's firing, and now there is even a petition to bring Don Cherry back to Hockey Night In Canada and Coach's Corner. The change.org petition, started by news publication Western Standard, aims to get Cherry back on the air. "Don Cherry is a Canadian icon and a symbol of the working class," the petition states. "He 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." The petition urges CBC and Sportsnet not to "cave into a mob of liberals and twitter activists," and asks that Cherry be immediately rehired. As of November 13, the petition has reached over 191,000 signatures, getting it close to its currently stated goal of 200,000. Don Cherry was fired from Sportsnet after remarks that appeared to target immigrants for not wearing poppies during Remembrance Day. "You people love, that come here, whatever it is, 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," Cherry said during the November 9 broadcast of Hockey Night In Canada. UPDATED: Cherry not backing down. “I know what I said and I meant it. Everybody in Canada should wear a poppy to honour our fallen soldiers.” https://t.co/0GeGLNEZsF— Western Standard (@WSOnlineNews) November 11, 2019 Cherry has claimed that he was not trying to specifically talk about immigrants, but rather anyone who doesn't wear a poppy. Some of the people who have signed the petition shared their thoughts in the comments section. "I am signing because well FREESPEACH is dead if this is upheld!!!! He said what many are thinking," wrote Tamara Mirbach. Jeff Triggs wrote, "I was offended by Ron McLean apologizing. Can we have him fired instead?" When I went to bed last night, our petition to https://t.co/Af4PyrJyDp had around 50,000 signatures.I just checked now, and it's at 59,924 -- nearly 10,000 overnight!Add your name, to help us smash through 60,000. Let's see if we can get to 75,000 by the end of the day! https://t.co/dm9s2SQqSW— Ezra Levant 🍁 (@ezralevant) November 12, 2019 A second petition started by Ezra Levant at Rebel Media has also garnered nearly 80,000 signatures as of November 13. While the petitions may not necessarily get Don Cherry back on the air, it shows that there is a considerable amount of support for him. There are stories everywhere. If you spot a newsworthy event in your city, send us a message, photo, or video @NarcityCanada on Twitter and Instagram.
