Tenors' O Canada rendition riles Don Cherry
Hockey commentator rips 'left wing weirdos in this country' amid anthem flap
Don Cherry is adding his voice to the growing list of those offended by The Tenors' controversial rendition of O Canada, saying the altered and politically charged lyrics embarrassed Canadians.
The Hockey Night in Canada personality took to his Twitter account Wednesday to post a scathing critique of the Canadian group's on-field performance before Tuesday night's Major League Baseball all-star game at San Diego's Petco Park.
My thoughts on the Tenors performance at the MLB All Star Game. <a href="https://t.co/bjeKSLkXOr">https://t.co/bjeKSLkXOr</a>
—@CoachsCornerCBCA line in the anthem was changed to "We're all brothers and sisters, all lives matter to the great." The normal lyric is "With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the True North strong and free."
Cherry was offended by the change, but the targets of his ire in his Twitter rant were perhaps misplaced.
"Oh well, all the left wing weirdos in this country are happy," Cherry said, although the "All Lives Matter" campaign is generally embraced by conservative Americans and not associated with left-of-centre politics.
Cherry has taken aim at left-leaning Canadians before, famously uttering "put that in your pipe you left-wing kooks" at the inauguration of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.
As for The Tenors, Cherry let the Canadian group off easy, except for American-born member Remigio Pereira. The Boston native, who grew up in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, is the one who sang the controversial lyrics while holding a sign reading "All Lives Matter." The words "United We Stand" were written on the back of the sign.
"I do feel sorry for the rest of the Tenors," he said. "They will be noted forever as 'oh yeah, the Tenors, they're the jerks that embarrassed us at the all-star game. Ah, they're good singers but what a bunch of jerks.'
"It's sad, it was only one, and it was done by an American."
The Tenors issued an apology after the performance, saying Pereira acted as a "lone wolf" and will not be performing with the group "until further notice."
The term "All Lives Matter" was born in controversy into the American political vocabulary last year as a response to the "Black Lives Matter" movement in the heat of a debate over police shootings in the U.S. Presidential candidate Martin O'Malley uttered the phrase at a Democratic party forum. He was booed and later apologized, an action criticized by some including Republican nominee Donald Trump.