Don Cherry is going off the air.The long-time host of Coach’s Corner will not be back on Hockey Night in Canada following inflammatory comments he made over the weekend regarding new Canadians.Rogers Sportsnet confirmed the decision with a statement Monday afternoon.“Following further discussions with Don Cherry after Saturday night’s broadcast, it has been decided it is the right time for him to immediately step down,” Sportsnet President Bart Yabsley said in a statement released on Twitter Monday afternoon. “During the broadcast, he made divisive remarks that do not represent our values or what we stand for.“Don is synonymous with hockey and has played an integral role in growing the game over the past 40 years. We would like to thank Don for his contributions to hockey and sports broadcasting in Canada.”Though he has been branded xenophobic, his comments had not come back to hurt him until Saturday night when he went on a rant during his first-period intermission segment, saying he’s seeing fewer people wearing poppies to honour fallen Canadian soldiers, singling out those he believes are immigrants in Toronto and Mississauga.“You know, I was talking to a veteran, and I said, I’m not going to run the (annual Remembrance Day montage) anymore, because what’s the sense? I live in Mississauga, nobody wears, very few people wear a poppy,” said Cherry. “Downtown Toronto, forget it, downtown Toronto, nobody wears a poppy. And I’m not going to, and he says, wait a minute. How about running it for the people that buy them?“Now you go to the small cities and you know, the rows on rows, 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. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price. Anyhow, I ...
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