Don Cherry opens up on his broken relationship with Ron MacLean

“No, I don't think we'll ever be friends again. Can't be friends. It's too bad.”

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 1 year ago
Don Cherry opens up on his broken relationship with Ron MacLean
Joe Warmington

Legendary CBC broadcaster Don Cherry has been laying low since being unceremoniously dumped from the airwaves in 2019, preferring to watch games alone from his home in Mississauga and offer up his opinion on his weekly podcast Don Cherry's Grapevine.

There was a time, of course, where Cherry did everything BUT lay low. He was omnipresent in hockey media and, whether you liked it or not, you knew exactly how Cherry felt about the topic du jour in the NHL. Cherry, affectionately known as Grapes to many, was the main attraction on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts for decades and held court during first intermission alongside HNIC host Ron MacLean for the iconic Coach's Corner segment. That was until Cherry went on his now infamous "you people" rant concerning new Canadians who neglect to wear a poppy for Remembrance Day and the CBC and Rogers made the decision to relieve Cherry from his position.

MacLean refused to support Cherry in the aftermath of his firing and the two have still not reconciled nearly two years later. In fact, Cherry says that he doesn't feel they'll ever reconcile and that they can never be friends again.

Here's Cherry responding to a question from Toronto Sun reporter Joe Warmington about whether or not Cherry thinks his relationship with MacLean can ever be fixed:

Hard to blame ya, Grapes. When a friend sells you out that badly it's impossible to come back from.