Analyst Cherry fired for remarks

Longtime NHL commentator Don Cherry was fired from Canadian broadcaster Sportsnet after making divisive comments about immigrants on the air Saturday night.

On the broadcast of “Hockey Night in Canada,” Cherry, an often controversial commentator, criticized immigrants in Canada for not recognizing Remembrance Day, the country’s equivalent to Memorial Day. The remarks started a firestorm in Canada that ended with Monday afternoon’s news that Cherry would “immediately step down.”

Many Canadians wear small artificial poppies in the days leading up to Remembrance Day to commemorate military personnel who died during war. Speaking Saturday night during “Coach’s Corner,” his intermission segment during the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Hockey Night in Canada,” Cherry said of immigrants:

“You people love — you, that come here, whatever it is — you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey,” Cherry said. “At least you could pay a couple of bucks for poppies or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life, that you enjoy in Canada.”

On Monday, after his firing, Cherry stood by his words in an interview with the Toronto Sun: “I know what I said and I meant it,” Cherry said. In other news:

• The NHL has suspended Columbus forward Nick Foligno for three games for a hit that leveled Colorado Avalanche forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

Foligno dropped Bellemare with the open-ice hit with his elbow to Bellemare’s jaw in Saturday’s game.