Proud Canadians! "fired for not signing flag for troops"
thankyougrandma
Posts: 1,182
Ahhh, here's a Don Cherryesque story of our great "white" northern country. I love those, i use to feel frustrations out of them, now it's just business as usual:
Hockey player fired for not signing flag for troops
Some support coach of Saint John Sea Dogs; others defend young Quebecer's freedom of expression
Last Updated: Monday, December 18, 2006 | 5:05 PM AT
CBC News
A junior hockey player has been ousted from the Saint John Sea Dogs after he did not sign a Canadian flag that the team was sending to troops in Afghanistan.
Dave Bouchard — a 20-year-old from Jonquière, Que., who played left wing on the Quebec Major Junior team — said he thought someone else had already signed his name.
But Sea Dogs coach Jacques Beaulieu said he did not accept that explanation and cut him from the team after Saturday's game.
"Morally, we have standards with this hockey team and that's a standard that we believe in," Beaulieu told CBC News Monday.
"I mean, if Dave doesn't believe in it, that's fine. But he won't be part of it. He won't be part of this organization. That's the standard that we set."
Beaulieu said he believes in freedom of expression but added that any player who refused to sign would have been kicked off the team.
"It wouldn't matter who it would have been. It could have been one of our best players, our first round pick."
Earlier issues with Bouchard, coach says
Beaulieu said Bouchard's decision not to sign the flag was just the latest in a long list of problems.
He said Bouchard had not been performing well and had a bad attitude, even though he has tied for top scorer on the team so far in the season.
Beaulieu said Bouchard was about to be cut anyway and the flag issue was the last straw.
Mixed reaction in Saint John
On the streets of Saint John, where the hockey team regularly draws big crowds for its home games, reaction to the coach's decision has been mixed.
Hockey fan Jackie Rocca said Beaulieu was justified in firing the young left-winger.
"He should have signed it, too. He's a team player, he should be a team player 100 per cent."
Player's right to hold his own opinions defended
Dave van de Wetering said it was unfortunate the player's right to choose his own political opinions hadn't been respected.
"The Dixie Chicks had a movie about it, about not supporting their president, they took certain backlash, which this player may also get, but he's willing to accept it. There's all kinds of people willing to say war is wrong."
Bouchard, who last played for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, has gone back to his hometown.
He could be traded to another team in the league, but his age makes 2006-07 his last season. In Saint John, his hockey career is over.
Meanwhile, Beaulieu said his decision has the full support of the team owners and even from some of Bouchard's former teammates.
"The owners have given me full reins of the hockey team and they allow me to make decisions like that and they totally support me, after I did it, even the some of the teammates said, 'Jacques, it was wrong, we support you and we believe in what you believe in, and it was the right thing to do.'"
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2006/12/18/nb-hockeyflag.html?ref=rss
I guess it's time to sing the national anthem, in english:
Oh Canada, our...
Hockey player fired for not signing flag for troops
Some support coach of Saint John Sea Dogs; others defend young Quebecer's freedom of expression
Last Updated: Monday, December 18, 2006 | 5:05 PM AT
CBC News
A junior hockey player has been ousted from the Saint John Sea Dogs after he did not sign a Canadian flag that the team was sending to troops in Afghanistan.
Dave Bouchard — a 20-year-old from Jonquière, Que., who played left wing on the Quebec Major Junior team — said he thought someone else had already signed his name.
But Sea Dogs coach Jacques Beaulieu said he did not accept that explanation and cut him from the team after Saturday's game.
"Morally, we have standards with this hockey team and that's a standard that we believe in," Beaulieu told CBC News Monday.
"I mean, if Dave doesn't believe in it, that's fine. But he won't be part of it. He won't be part of this organization. That's the standard that we set."
Beaulieu said he believes in freedom of expression but added that any player who refused to sign would have been kicked off the team.
"It wouldn't matter who it would have been. It could have been one of our best players, our first round pick."
Earlier issues with Bouchard, coach says
Beaulieu said Bouchard's decision not to sign the flag was just the latest in a long list of problems.
He said Bouchard had not been performing well and had a bad attitude, even though he has tied for top scorer on the team so far in the season.
Beaulieu said Bouchard was about to be cut anyway and the flag issue was the last straw.
Mixed reaction in Saint John
On the streets of Saint John, where the hockey team regularly draws big crowds for its home games, reaction to the coach's decision has been mixed.
Hockey fan Jackie Rocca said Beaulieu was justified in firing the young left-winger.
"He should have signed it, too. He's a team player, he should be a team player 100 per cent."
Player's right to hold his own opinions defended
Dave van de Wetering said it was unfortunate the player's right to choose his own political opinions hadn't been respected.
"The Dixie Chicks had a movie about it, about not supporting their president, they took certain backlash, which this player may also get, but he's willing to accept it. There's all kinds of people willing to say war is wrong."
Bouchard, who last played for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, has gone back to his hometown.
He could be traded to another team in the league, but his age makes 2006-07 his last season. In Saint John, his hockey career is over.
Meanwhile, Beaulieu said his decision has the full support of the team owners and even from some of Bouchard's former teammates.
"The owners have given me full reins of the hockey team and they allow me to make decisions like that and they totally support me, after I did it, even the some of the teammates said, 'Jacques, it was wrong, we support you and we believe in what you believe in, and it was the right thing to do.'"
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2006/12/18/nb-hockeyflag.html?ref=rss
I guess it's time to sing the national anthem, in english:
Oh Canada, our...
"L'homme est né libre, et partout il est dans les fers"
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
either way - its BS ... signing flags have nothing to do with supporting the team you are on ...
naděje umírá poslední
the player is saying it's all a huge misunderstanding, he say that another player told him he did sign for him. Coaching staffs are saying they heard the kid say : "i'd only sign a Quebec flag". But whatever is real, it is, as you said, total bullshit. In a stupid attempt to clean their images, the organisation is defending the move by saying stuffs like : "if Dave doesn't believe in it, that's fine. But he won't be part of it. He won't be part of this organization. That's the standard that we set."
Such a pile of canadian shit, one more...
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
whoa nelly ... you can't take an incident like this and start making it some federalist thing ... this is some guy in a hockey team ... its BS but it isn't anything more than that ...
Ya, although it seems less likely something like this would have happened in Que., where antiwar sentiment is stronger than in the rest of Canada, as far as i know. Buit anyways, I laughed at the "we have standards" argument. That's hilarious. Ya, well, I'm sure the person putting his name on something has his own fucking standards, and who is to say they necessarily have to match those of the team ?
This story add on to the many others, jan wong xenophobic articles about Dawson killing linking this crime to Quebec's language policies, Don Cherry overall achievement, elizabeth May Kebecistan racist articles, almost every editorial about Quebec nation motion, anyway those are only a sample and only happened this year (i won't go through 400 years of history), and all these stories are accepted in most part of Canada and denounce in Quebec, say what you want about it, but it is the way Canada is, it IS Canada, it IS canadian bullshit, Canada also have huge bright side, but the way Canadians act towards Quebec or Quebec "morale values" is just hilarious.
edit: Canadians in general (moslty anglos) tend to separate themselves from the american patriotism when in fact Canadian patriotism is really close to what you can see in the USA.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
i wasn't in the country for much of the quebec as a nation debate ... so, i am not too sure what you are referring to ... all i do know is that i am canadian and i don't support what this coach did nor will you find too many people here do so (at least i don't think) ...
but you bring to light a significant problem ... you feel canada treats quebec like crap but there is a flip side too ... i won't go into details but this is what i think at the end of the day ...
i believe in quebec as much as i believe in newfoundland ... i believe in preserving cultural differences no matter what part of the country you live in ... but i also believe that if Canada is to work - it must be unified in an understanding that we all believe in common values ... we spend too much time bickering about inconsequential issues that we lose sight of what is ultimately most important ...
so, i ask you ... as a quebecer - what matters most to you?
Well i did not bring that up to prove that Quebec must separate, i bring that up cause i'd like this kind of crap to stop, as a Canadian these stories are f*cking annoying. All this nice speech about the Trudeau vision of Canada is great and no one can disagree. But in the end we're still living under Trudeau's vision, and this kind of crap keeps repeating once every 3-4 months, Canada and Quebec (not newfoundland) still disagree on most issue concerning the way this country should act or be heading, bilinguism in english Canada is not even close from being a reality, and Don Cherry is still one of the most popular man alive in Canada (hehe).
About culture, you pointed out an interesting thing about Trudeau's vision: preserving culture "preserving", Bullshit (sorry) I want it to thrive. No more moral superiority, so what matters most to me, mutual respect from both nations, would be a good start. I doubt we're heading there, and i don't think it is "inconsequential issues" when it is a "chronological" trend.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
there is a difference of opinion that spans the country ... not just quebec ... you think ontario is happy? ... and don cherry?? ... i mean c'mon - no one takes that guy seriously ...
national unity does not and cannot sit on the steps of one province ... respect is a matter of perspective ... if you are going to take a hockey coach in NB as a symbolism of national disrespect then - we will never reach a consensus ... it is why i asked u - what matters most to you? ... answer that - and go from there ... if we do not have commonality - then there is differences that can't be abridged - but if we do, then let us focus on that rather than dumbass hockey coaches ...
Don Cherry is a Canadian national treasure, and his sense of style is unimpeachable.