On Wednesday morning, Ron MacLean began trending on social media for all the wrong reasons. MacLean put himself in danger last night when he tried to crack a joke during the national broadcast of Game 4 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. His remark sparked outrage on social media, as it was interpreted as "homophobic," and various videos of the footage quickly went viral. «You have a photo of a man with his tarp off, you're definitely positive for something,» MacLean said as analyst Kevin Bieksa was wrapping up a segment.
Fans have demanded that MacLean be fired from Sportsnet, citing how inappropriate and offensive his ostensibly odd attempt at humor was. The company, as well as MacLean himself, could explain it that way.
We all recall Don Cherry being fired more than a year ago for making racist comments on the air. When his longtime broadcasting partner was fired for saying that recent immigrants to Canada should honor those who fought for the freedom and way of life they came to enjoy, MacLean remained mostly silent. Cherry later expressed his dissatisfaction with his friend's lack of support.
