Given the views Don Cherry expressed over the weekend, you can assume the blowhard also isn’t in favor of women having the vote.
Cherry turned the way-back machine to 1985 (or 1885) by saying he isn’t in favor of having women in the locker room during his weekly segment on CBC. It occurs at the 2:23 mark of the video below. Watch the priceless reaction of co-host Ron MacLean, who knows Cherry just stepped in it.
Cherry was responding to a woman reporter in Vancouver, Karen Thompson, pressing Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks about a slash he dished out that did not receive a penalty. Keith got upset about the line of questioning, and suggested that Thompson should be a “female referee.”
Awful Announcing has the audio and recap.
Keith made a poor choice of words by saying “female referee.” However, the exchange could have occurred just as easily with a male reporter. Players get ticked off at reporters all the time.
When Cherry came to the defense of his “good friend” Keith, he took a swipe at all women reporters. The Association for Women in Sports Media issued a strong response yesterday.
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The Association for Women in Sports Media is dismayed and disappointed by the remarks made by Don Cherry on CBC’s segment of “Coach’s Corner,” which aired Saturday, April 27.
Cherry’s stance that women should not be allowed in hockey locker rooms is as sexist as it is outdated. Professional female sports journalists and media relations personnel have been working alongside their male counterparts in NHL locker rooms for nearly 40 years.
AWSM then noted the CBC, though a spokesman, issued a written statement saying Cherry’s comments did not represent the views of the network. You think? Not good to upset the women demo.
The CBC:
“As you know, Don Cherry has many opinions on a wide range of subjects and isn’t shy about expressing them … last night being no exception,” CBC head of media relations Chuck Thompson said. “That said, in as much as he’s hired to give hockey related opinions on Coach’s Corner, he speaks for himself and not the CBC. I should also point out, and something you likely heard when watching last night, Ron MacLean took the opposing view and countered Don’s perspective, which provided some balance to the discussion.”
AWSM would like to thank MacLean for his support of women and his championing of equal opportunity in the workplace.
We reaffirm our support for all the female sports professionals who cover the NHL.”
One of those professionals is Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times, a 2005 Elmer Ferguson Hockey Hall of Fame honoree. And there are plenty of other strong women reporters throughout the league. They go in the locker rooms after every game. It hasn’t been an issue for years.
My gut reaction is to not even dignify Cherry’s remarks. Why call attention to an out-of-touch man who only wants to draw attention to himself?
However, AWSM is right. Even in this day and age, there are people who don’t know better. The association had to denounce Cherry’s comments and set the record straight. Again.
Thankfully, unlike Cherry, there are fewer people who still think it is 1985.
It amazes me how so many people have no reasoning skills. It is everyones right to have some privacy while changing cloths or bathing. Particularly from the opposite sex. That is why we have seperate change rooms, bathrooms etc for men and women. Cherry’s point of how most people would find it offensive for a male reporter to go into a changeroom full of young women changing cloths and showering should have been a wake-up call. Sadly, too many people are brainwashed into thinking that reverse-discrimination is acceptable.