Sports

Should This Hockey Broadcaster Be in Trouble for His 9/11 Reference?

Let’s try something different. Watch this clip, and see if anything strikes you as odd:

So, did anything stand out? In case you’d rather read it, here’s what he said:

“It’s crazy to compare to what the emergency responders did during that time, but a spirit has to start somewhere and as you enjoy this series between the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals, Game 6 coming up, 3-2 New York, you can‘t help but be struck by the players and the way they’ve played these games. They are like police officers, they are like firefighters. You can’t fight fire with ego, Brad (Richards) knows that. The pain these men have faced, the price they keep on paying, the hearts they keep on lifting.”

If you said the broadcaster’s Canadian accent, that will work. But if you said the broadcaster’s reference to 9/11 and comparing the hockey players to first responders, you would be part of the growing group of people wondering why Canadian broadcaster Ron MacLean thought it was a good idea to intro a hockey game with a lengthy analogy to 9/11 and the emergency workers immortalized on that day.

The reference occurred Wednesday night on CBC’s “Hockey Night in America,” before the Washington Capitals took on the New York Rangers. As soon as MacLean finished the intro, he was immediately lampooned on Twitter. HuffPo captured some of the tweets:

CBC Hockey Broadcaster Ron MacLean Compares Players to 9/11 Responders

Deadspin called it a “torturous” comparison and noted the irony of MacLean saying “it is crazy to compare what the emergency responders did in that time,“ but then going on ”to do exactly that.”

And CBC must have felt uncomfortable about it to. MacLean and the network released a statement clarifying the remarks:

As Hockey Night In Canada went to air for last night’s game between Washington and New York, in his opening remarks, Ron MacLean described the on-going battle between the two teams and made reference to the respective cities, both of which were 9/11 targets.

Ron and CBC would like to clarify what may have been misunderstood by his comments.

“Washington and New York.  The two cities united by the tragedy of 9/11. I, like everyone on the planet in his or her lifetime, saw beyond the horror, the single greatest testament to the strength of the human spirit in the efforts of the first responders”, says Ron Maclean.

“We never know if we’ll have that spirit. The bravery, the resilience. As I made clear, the hockey games in no way compare. However Sports has proven a worthy training ground in nurturing the qualities which beget that spirit. To say he plays like a firefighter or a policeman would instantly conjure the traits an athlete most desires, especially in New York and Washington. There could be no higher praise of a player, no greater choice of a role model .

But as I said of first responders, ‘Our worst day is their everyday’. They stand alone.”

So what do you think? Does MacLean deserve the backlash? Was what he said outrageous? Just awkward? Simply bad TV? Take our poll below.


Comments (26)

  • marine249
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 12:16pm

    six words no ten
    dumb comments
    dumb man
    dunb game

    Report Post »  
    • KC1
      Posted on May 11, 2012 at 2:24pm

      Go watch your basketball nancy!

      Report Post »  
  • Tom Dooley
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 9:27am

    As a retired NYC Firefighter with a son who is also, I was down at the pile for many weeks and lost hundreds of personal friends including my best friend and an entire ladder company that I worked in for over eight years I was not offended by his statement. He did not say hockey players are the same as first responders.He spoke of the courage and spirit shown be these two teams during these games.Personally I consider it a complement. More people need to mention 911 because between me and you it is being forgotten!

    Report Post »  
    • JediPatriot
      Posted on May 11, 2012 at 10:09am

      @ Tom Dooley – Sorry for your loss.
      There are some of us who will never forget. Or forgive.
      Peace

      Report Post » JediPatriot  
    • jhaydeng
      Posted on May 11, 2012 at 11:10am

      Agreed

      Report Post »  
    • riseandshine
      Posted on May 11, 2012 at 4:00pm

      I know I’ll never forget. The world has changed dramatically, and will continue to change, and not for the good, from the effects of that horrible crime. That crime is still being perpetuated to this day. But justice will come. Justice WILL prevail, eventually..it always does and always will…either in this life or the next. The crimes of others can’t limit my happiness…only ‘I’ can do that. Peace All.

      Report Post » riseandshine  
    • riseandshine
      Posted on May 11, 2012 at 5:05pm

      @Tom…. *the crimes of others can’t limit our ability to find joy…but they can sure cause enormous pain and suffering. Like Jedi said..some of us will never forget. God Bless.

      Report Post » riseandshine  
  • Capps2865
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 9:14am

    Come on! All he said was that their spirits were like those of fire fighters and police. He was honoring the first responders – not insulting them. Please.

    Report Post »  
  • StopWhiningAlready
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:58am

    Ron McLean is a fantastic announcer and commentator. He takes otherwise typical situations and makes them interesting. His job is to acquire and retain the attention of the viewers, often doing so by finding some common link between the teams, their fans and anyone who may have been caught with the channel on who might otherwise start looking for the remote. I find the phony-baloney outrage that someone would dare reference 9/11 in any manner and the forced pseudo-apology that followed to be far more offensive than anything he said on the air. I only wish it would have been Don Cherry. His apology would have been more akin to, “Give me a break and stop your belly-aching”.

    Report Post » StopWhiningAlready  
  • PALucier
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:56am

    It‘s a frikkin’ GAME – moron! Hockey PLAYERS! Firefighters and police don’t PLAY while on duty! And they don’t get paid as well as professional athletes…

    Report Post »  
  • moriarty70
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:49am

    He w romanticizing the series, that’s all. Didn‘t work the best but considering how many broadcasts he does a year and how many years he’s been doing it, hes allowed a flub here and there.

    Also, considering his constant companion, Don Cherry, I think it‘s safe to say Ron’s job is plenty safe.

    Report Post » moriarty70  
  • Baddoggy
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:32am

    He’s Canadian…Nuff said.

    Report Post » Baddoggy  
  • Some Chicken Some Neck
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:27am

    Ron MacLean is a great announcer, one whom I have watched and admired for years. My impressions from watching him during countless hockey and Olympic broadcasts are he is kind, highly considerate, sensitive, and generally unassuming. Unlike so many broadcasters, he does not try to make himself the focus of the event, but works to put the spotlight on the event and the person he is covering. It’s nice to live in an area where we get the Canadian television broadcasts so we can watch Ron host the Olympic coverage instead of suffering the bombast of NBC and its crew.

    I understand what he was trying to do. Not his best metaphor ever, but let’s not get carried away. Like Charles Barkley got carried away during a basketball broadcast when he said about Romney, “We are going to beat you like a drum in November.” Who‘s ’we’, Charles?

    I appreciate Ron MacLean.

    p.s. I am an American.

    Report Post » Some Chicken Some Neck  
  • proliance
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:25am

    “The price they keep on paying…” Really? Professional hockey players are tortured souls who give so much and get so little in return?

    Report Post » proliance  
  • blanco5
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:22am

    I’m not offended. He’s just an idiot.

    Report Post »  
    • Some Chicken Some Neck
      Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:55am

      Ron is no idiot. In fact, in the culture of Canada and the Stanley Cup playoffs, he was as much praising the September 11 heroes as he was the hockey players. It was a poor metaphor. But it was certainly not in any way malicious. Is this any different when ESPN announcers (or whatever network) talk about a “heroic” feat or the guy who hit the homer as the game’s “hero.“ Are you equally offended when NFL players talk about a big game and refer to it as ”war.”

      Relax. Have some poutine and a Molson and relax.

      Report Post » Some Chicken Some Neck  
    • blanco5
      Posted on May 11, 2012 at 9:12am

      Some chicken…..take your own words to heart. Relax.

      Report Post »  
    • Some Chicken Some Neck
      Posted on May 11, 2012 at 9:17am

      Touche.

      Report Post » Some Chicken Some Neck  
  • THXll38
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:20am

    The PC world is at it again . . . pathetic!

    Report Post » THXll38  
  • Discovering the Founding Principles.com
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:11am

    For real people! In no way was the intent at all to offend, he was talking players and teams up, up to what, the First Responders. It was a stretch, but to say it is “offensive” because he was trying to talk others up to them, is being smitten just for effect and not cause. It was a poor analogy, but hardly disrespectful.

    Report Post » Discovering the Founding Principles.com  
  • love the kids
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:06am

    I am a hockey player, coach hockey players and and know many hockey players. I have to say that you can play hard and physical against a team that is filled with penalties, then after the game go to the bar with the opposing team and those people would do anything to help you out 5 minutes later.

    Report Post »  
  • love the kids
    Posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:03am

    Here are the people of US trying to get a Canadian broadcaster fired for something that someone else probably wrote. Just realize that the point here was that Hockey players do show a lot of courage and they were just trying to make a comparison to something.
    It‘s funny how free speech works until someone says something they don’t like.

    Report Post »  

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