If Don Cherry’s not the most colourful Canadian ever, he’s in the running. Wardrobe alone puts him on the list, but that’s mere sidebar to an extraordinary life. The man’s iconic. Even without the 40-year broadcasting career, he’d be famous. Yet they cast him aside like yesterday’s garbage. They cancelled him, and they badmouthed him on the way out. That’s how they do it now.

As a player, Cherry was a career minor-leaguer. He played 18 seasons in the AHL, racking up respectable stats and plenty of penalty minutes. At 20, he skated in his lone NHL game and was held off the scoresheet.

He fared far better as a coach, running the Boston Bruins’ bench for five seasons, and reaching two Stanley Cup Finals -- losing both. His most famous moment was May 10, 1979 -- Game Seven against the hated Montreal Canadiens. The rivalry was as storied as it was one-sided -- the Habs were a dynasty and the Bruins (sans Bobby Orr) were a scrappy bunch in over their heads.

But this magical night was different. The Bruins led 3-1 after two and were cruising to another Finals appearance. But with 2:34 in the third, clinging to a 4-3 lead, Cherry’s lads were called for "too many men on the ice." In the ensuing powerplay, the great Guy Lafleur tied the game and Yvon Lambert won it for Les Habitants in sudden-death.

Cherry’s stay in the NHL was near done. "Too-many-men" is always the coach’s fault, and a gaffe like that would mark a lesser man for life. For Cherry it’s a footnote. In the Spring of 1980, he began a legendary broadcasting career. He talked like a commoner -- plain and to the point -- and though grammar was never a priority, he was a storyteller extraordinaire with a knack for controversy. He shied from nothing. Coach’s Corner became must-see TV and Canadians coast to coast stopped what they were doing to hear his latest rant and see his latest gaudy suit.

His love for Canada and Canadians was as clear as his contempt for Europeans entering the league in big numbers. Lack of physical play by Swedes and Finns was a frequent target of his wrath. When Russians started appearing in the 90s, it was as if war had been declared. On the rare occasions Don got political, he was an unapologetic nationalist. He spoke often of “Left-Wing Pinkos.”

Criticism came with a wink and a smile. Don was Don, and we loved him nonetheless. In fact, we loved him all the more. There was never a thought of getting rid of him -- heavens no, he was too popular -- though he skated on thin ice when he went after French Canadians, which he did frequently.

Back in ’79, the team that ended Cherry’s quest was dominated by French Canadians. For that matter, the league itself was dominated by Canadians. 85% of its 500 players hailed from the Great White North, a matter of pride north of the 49th. As the percentage dropped, Cherry continued to disparage European imports with impunity. It felt vaguely racist, but the players were white so no one cared. Besides, Cherry knew where he couldn't go. Race. Not that he wanted or needed to. In ’79, the NHL had three black players.

The world’s changed immensely since 1979. It’s changed immensely since 2015, when Kaepernick was a QB and Woke Sports was just waking up. Today, the NFL’s unwatchable, and the NHL’s desperate to catch up. This episode with Cherry is proof.

So, what exactly happened? Basically, Don called out immigrants for not following the Canadian tradition of wearing poppies in support of veterans.

“You people… come here… you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy… these guys paid for your way of life… these guys paid the biggest price.”

On the Cherry scale, it was throwaway. A nothingburger. Even Ron MacLean, Don’s slippery sidekick, nodded along. The mob saw it differently. They brayed for Don’s scalp and Sportsnet fired him two days later, on Remembrance Day if you can believe it. To nail the coffin shut, they dug up objectionable dispatches -- by today’s standards -- from Cherry’s checkered past. They lectured us on the military contributions of non-whites. They reminded us the NHL had no black player until 1957 and that women were underpaid. Ratings tanked, but this was bigger than ratings. Wasn’t it?

Overnight, MacLean changed his tune. He called Cherry’s comments “hurtful, discriminatory and flat-out wrong." He hosted a nauseating discussion on race and gender in hockey. He flagellated himself and whites everywhere. He denounced, he prostrated -- then he pivoted to pious lecturing.

Pure cringe, but that’s Ron. His spine is as flexible as any politician, and he’s no dummy. He recognized capitulation was the only way, and went all in. He took a leadership role in the moral preening. Whites -- especially men -- must know their place. Whites must shut up and listen. Simpering submissiveness is the only acceptable posture for white males tiptoeing through a minefield of career-destroying social topics.

Of course, this was the antithesis of Don Cherry. Don was an unpleasant relic of a different age, a golden age when men had balls, and countries had borders. When people had pride and optimism. Even white people.

Back in the day, we looked at Cherry with awe. The truth is, we still have their ilk in sports commentary -- swashbuckling, devil-may-care personalities -- they’re just not white. Guys like Barkley and Shaq and Stephen A. Smith say what they please -- especially on matters racial. Damn the consequences.

Meanwhile, the alpha white male has been neutered and replaced by the pencil-neck hall monitor. And we pretend not to notice.