Jamie Nye: It was time to say goodbye to Don Cherry long before he said ‘you people’

Ron and Don and Coach’s Corner were must-see TV for a younger version of me. Growing up, the first intermission with Don Cherry’s lively and unfiltered takes on hockey was some amazing television.

I’ll never forget the time Don whacked Ron MacLean over the head with a plastic elbow pad to prove his point on why equipment was leading to more head injuries and not the play on the ice.

I still believe he had a point.

Rock ’em Sock ’em videos were must-see for a generation who grew up on the glorification of violence in hockey before CTE and concussion protocol were still decades away.

But that’s just it. There were plenty of reasons for CBC and now Rogers to realize Don Cherry’s schtick was wearing thin not only in regards to his old-school hockey takes but also his ignorance on issues that led him to characterize new Canadians as “you people” on Saturday night.

The networks kept giving him a platform and an audience.

It was time to say goodbye to Don a while ago, and it’s too bad it had to end like this.