DAVID MENZIES | You're never going to guess who Canada's new champion of free speech is...
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Summary
Ron McClain has emerged as Canada's newest champion regarding freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Yes, knock us all down with a feather, for it is none other than Don Cherry's former sidekick, Ron McClain.
Transcript
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Folks, you're never going to believe who is reinventing himself as a champion of free speech
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and free expression. That would be former Coach's Corner, second banana, Ron McClain.
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No, I'm not kidding. It's Wednesday, October 18th, 2023. I'm David Menzies, and this is the Ezra Levent Show.
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You're never going to believe who has emerged as Canada's newest champion regarding freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
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Yes, knock us all down with a feather, for it is none other than Don Cherry's former sidekick.
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I speak of Ron McClain, the very same Coach's Corner, second banana, who chose not to exercise his freedom of speech
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and freedom of expression when the beloved Grapes was given the axe almost four years ago for, well, stating the truth, actually.
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Here are Don's statements that did him in on what turned out to be the final Coach's Corner.
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You know, I was talking to a veteran. I said, I'm not going to run the poppy thing anymore, because what's the sense?
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I live in Mississauga. Nobody wears, very few people wear a poppy.
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Downtown Toronto, forget it, downtown Toronto, nobody wears a poppy.
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And I'm not going to win. He says, wait a minute. How about running it for the people that buy them?
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Now, you go to the small cities, and you know, you know, those, the rows on rows, you people love, you, they come here, whatever it is,
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you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple of bucks for poppies or something like that.
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These guys pay for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada. These guys pay the biggest price.
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Anyhow, I'm going to run it again for you great people and good Canadians that bought a poppy.
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By the way, did you notice that Ron McClain nodded his head in agreement and gave Cherry a big thumbs up?
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Wouldn't that indicate Ron actually, you know, agreed with Don?
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Or maybe he wasn't paying attention, which would be his job, of course, as a co-host.
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Now, it should be noted that Don Cherry mentioned that he lives in Mississauga.
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Oh, not to take in an event commemorating Canadian war veterans or anything like that, mind you.
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We were there to cover a pro-Hamas demonstration.
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Here, check out some of the disturbing video evidence.
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It is a resistance that has been fuming for 75 years of colonialism, of occupation, of murder, of rape, of little children, of women.
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Do you think Canada is a colonialist country, too?
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Every single thing they have done is justified.
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Once again, I want to emphasize that this footage was shot in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, not Ramallah or Gaza City.
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And riddle me this, how many of those folk do you think will be donning poppies next month?
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Well, I guess we will find out for sure in a few weeks.
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Anyway, the Woke Meisters came for Don Cherry big time back in 2019.
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But Cherry rightfully told the Woke Mob he had nothing to apologize for.
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And so it was that the most watched eight minutes of TV in Canada was vaporized due to political correctness.
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Yeah, sure, diversity is our strength, except when it comes to a diversity of opinions, that is.
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Oh, by the way, check out footage we shot at Yonge Dundas Square last year during the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
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I'm just asking people why they don't wear poppies on this day.
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Funny that pride gets an entire season these days while Remembrance Day receives a single morning.
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And I do not exaggerate, folks, when I tell you that easily 95% of passers-by were not wearing a poppy that day.
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And shamefully, Ron McLean did not stand up for him.
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Alas, Ron McLean's essay on free speech and free expression published on Sportsnet.ca had absolutely nothing to do with Don Cherry or standing up for war veterans.
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Rather, the focus of Ron's essay is all about denouncing the NHL and the NHL Players Association for enacting a ban on rainbow-colored hockey tape.
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Apparently, the spirit unicorns comprising the Rainbow Mafia are having a tantrum over this turn of events.
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Then again, when is this community not complaining about something?
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In any event, if you can believe it, Ron starts his essay with a quotation from feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton dating back to 1860.
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To make laws that man cannot and will not obey serves to bring all law into contempt.
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Now, Stanton was speaking about women getting the right to vote.
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But McLean is fretting over the lack of rainbow-hued hockey tape in NHL arenas this season.
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A lack of so-called pride tape is tantamount to a human rights violation.
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The NHL, in consultation with the NHL Players Association, decided that the no-pride tape policy was simply an offshoot of the sweaters being removed from the 250 theme nights to avoid dissension in the dressing room and distractions in the media.
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It is a fair point, well-intended, but it also misses the point.
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Actually, getting rid of this ongoing pride circus is precisely the point.
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Getting down with the whole L-G-G-B-D-T-T-T-I-Q-Q-A-A-P-P agenda was becoming a big distraction for the NHL.
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I mean, you want to go see gay guys on Frozen H2O?
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Then, geez, buy a ticket for the ice capades already.
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But Ron then channels Prime Minister Blackface by stating, quote,
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The world is filling with more people, more voices, and more possibilities.
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And if those in power don't share in this growth, like empires, nation-states, and leaders before them, they will vanish.
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The invisible will not tolerate being subjectively minimized.
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Was Ron McClain inebriated when he wrote this over-the-top tripe?
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I mean, good golly, where does one even begin to dissect this rant?
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After all, it used to be that homosexuality was the love that dare not speak its name.
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And really, Ron, empires and nation-states and leaders will vanish if we don't allow rainbow-colored hockey tape in NHL arenas?
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The forced smiles all around to protect private interests is not democracy.
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You know, I would actually applaud Ron's sentiments if this statement pertained to what happened to those in the Freedom Convoy last year.
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My beloved colleague, Alexa Lavoie, was shot by a trigger-happy cop.
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Leaders such as Tamara Leach were put in solitary confinement.
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And freedom-loving Canadians had their bank accounts frozen for having the utter temerity to donate to a charity supporting the freedom movement.
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But for Ronald, tyranny is all about a privately owned sports league implementing a no-pride tape rule.
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Predictably, McClain goes on to invoke the memories of Tommy Smith and John Carlos wearing black power gloves on the medal podium at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
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And Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier.
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And Muhammad Ali and Billie Jean King and Colin Kaepernick and so on and so on and so forth.
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McClain calls this a, quote, promise by these athletes not to let bad leadership bully the truth.
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Asking questions is fundamental to democracy, and it's neither aggression nor imposition, end quote.
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What the H-E double hockey sticks is Ron talking about?
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Look, if the NHL was, say, banning homosexuals from playing, that would indeed be offside.
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But I stress yet again, the NHL is not banning people.
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It's banning a certain coloration of hockey tape.
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But Ron, the drama queen McClain, he's not quite done yet, folks.
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Quote, the leaders ought to hear what the 2SLGBTQ+, and allies are saying.
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In our deepest reflexes and emotions, we feel we are being pushed away by a rule we cannot obey, end quote.
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So, translation, if you're on an NHL team, you better embrace hockey tape diversity as a human right.
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And I must ask, are members of the L-G-G-B-D-T-T-T-I-Q-Q-A-A-P-P community, as the Ontario Teachers Federation likes to call them,
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That if they don't see rainbow flags, and rainbow crosswalks, and rainbow hockey tape, this is tantamount to an attack on them?
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If so, where is the psychiatric community when you really need it?
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Now, I did reach out to Ron McClain via email with a few questions about how he has reinvented himself as a free speech, free expression crusader.
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Well, at least as it pertains to hockey tape, that is.
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I truly respect that, folks, because the PR strategy embraced by far too many people in public life these days,
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including federally elected politicians, is to simply ignore impolite queries.
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As you are well aware, Don Cherry, beloved by millions of Canadians, was cancelled for simply speaking the truth.
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Why did you not stand up for Don Cherry's right to free speech some four years ago?
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Even Don knew he didn't speak the truth when he projected a behavior on immigrants.
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The notion that they were the non-poppy wearers he sees.
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If it was an innocent mix-up, it was an easier fix.
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Say you're sorry for the confusion and set the record straight.
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I obviously spent 72 hours imploring Don to save the situation.
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But alas, if Don Cherry was offside with his remarks, again, I point out,
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why was Ron nodding in agreement and giving the big thumbs-up gesture as Don was making those remarks?
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Just review that footage again for yourselves, folks.
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Also, since Ron McLean began his essay by quoting a feminist,
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In your essay, you quote Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a 19th century feminist.
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I found this very interesting, given that women's sports are currently under attack
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What is your position regarding biological males who are unfairly competing against biological females?
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After all, with a few exceptions, such as equestrian and auto racing,
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males and females have always played in separate divisions for obvious reasons.
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Now, since his essay was all about hockey and the Spirit Unicorn Syndicate,
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On a related note, what is your position on drag queen performances at NHL games?
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They, whoever and whomever, is more than welcome to show us all, including children,
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You know, again, folks, why is it that the concept of age appropriateness
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when one is a member and or ally of the Rainbow Mafia?
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In the Department of Perverse Irony, I noticed that your employer, Sportsnet,
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Are you concerned that there are fans who do not subscribe
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yet prevent Sportsnet subscribers from weighing in with their opinions?
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The comments question is one for Sportsnet, end quote.
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I should note, folks, that I did reach out to Sportsnet's media relations department
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Sportsnet is owned by robbers, or I mean Rogers,
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one of the worst and most arrogant corporations on the face of this planet.
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Sure, Rogers will take your tax dollars to subsidize their floundering media properties
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As for your opinions, oh no, go pound sand, you bunch of jabronis.
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The Rogers reprobates aren't interested in your feedback,
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Here's why Ron's Rainbow Mafia rant is a misfire.
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In the bigger picture, I look upon sports as pure escapism.
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When I go to a hockey game, I just want to watch a hockey game.
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I bet the vast majority of fans are on side with that position.
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In fact, I think we are trying to get away from all the woke garbage
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that is being shoved down our throats on a daily basis
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simply by going to a sports event in the first place.
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But no, even the realm of fun and games has been infected by wokeism.
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And what the wokemeisters like McClain fail to realize
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when it comes to woke joke causes is that the NHL is a business.
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And as they say in the business world, the bottom line is the bottom line.
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Maybe the real reason the NHL isn't so gay these days
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As I previously reported, check out this Yahoo Sports article from last February,
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which notes that NHL TV ratings have plunged by a staggering 22% year over year.
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More than one-fifth of the NHL's TV viewing audience
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the NHL's never-ending force-feeding of woke ideology
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Anecdotally, I can tell you I've come across numerous friends,
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they watched an entire sporting match from start to finish.
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The NHL is undoubtedly concerned with this massive TV ratings plunge
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because as much as ticket sales and concessions
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and the sale of merchandise is important to pro sports teams,
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And if a league is delivering fewer and fewer eyeballs to the networks,
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Shrinking audiences is not just an NHL trend, by the way.
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Sports Business Journal reports that Major League Baseball
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saw its viewership drop by 29% across Fox Sports and ESPN
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On the hard court, the Los Angeles Times reported that
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averaged its smallest audience when held during its customary time
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since 2007, erasing the previous low set a year earlier.
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Even the almighty National Football League is not immune.
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Sports Media Watch reports that NFL viewership took a slight hit
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during the 2022-23 regular season, averaging 16.7 million viewers per window,
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down from the previous season's average of 17.1 million.
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In the final analysis, I think Ron McClain is the proverbial nice guy.
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I do mean that, folks, but I think he'd be even more of a nice guy
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if he, well, had a little more testicular fortitude in him.
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Going to bat for the Rainbow Mafia, that's low-hanging fruit, no pun intended,
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Virtually the entire sports writing and sports broadcasting business
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have been duly indoctrinated by academia and or their corporate masters.
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That's what made Don Cherry so great in the first place.
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He said what he believed, and he believed what he said.
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But back to Cherry's sidekick, I truly believe that if in Ron McClain's heart of hearts,
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he knows the lynching of Don Cherry was very wrong and very foolish.
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I believe in his heart of hearts, Ron McClain surely knows that allowing biological males
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to compete against biological females is unethical and unsafe and unfair.
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But free speech champion Ron McClain, he's smart enough to self-censor himself.
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He's smart enough to realize that with cancel culture being what it is these days,
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Such wrongthink ultimately leads to an economic death sentence,
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and Ron McClain doesn't want to get Don Cherry'd himself.
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So that's why Ron will rail on about a safe, albeit trite issue,
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This is all about appeasing the woke mob, given that these free speech jihadis might also come
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And besides, I assume that like everyone else, Ron McClain needs to make a living.
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Thus, I shall conclude this monologue with a stanza from a timeless nursery rhyme
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that pretty much explains the rationale for Ronald remaining silent on the real big-ticket free speech issues.
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And bonus, this nursery rhyme even refers to the rodent nickname Ron McClain acquired
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We came here quite early to get a perspective from somebody that's been working for a long time
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and we've spoken to before on Rebel News within some of the most hostile environments
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And he gave us some amazing perspective because what he's told us is that in the last week and a half,
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Israel's attitude to security has completely changed.
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So, for example, in the neighborhood that he works a lot is they buy houses from Palestinian owners
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Now, these are old, ancient, or prior to the state of Israel, Jewish neighborhoods that were then,
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the Jews were chased out and now they're buying them in East Jerusalem, right next, right outside the old city.
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It used to actually be called the Old Yemenite Village.
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It's where Yemenite Jews, when they first came to Israel before 48, way before 48,
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Anyways, putting the politics and the history aside a second,
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what he was saying to me is for 20 years or so, the Jews that live in there,
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so Jews that bought their houses from Palestinians, and think about that concept,
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the idea that it's so controversial that a Jew is not even allowed to buy,
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you're not talking about stealing houses as they try to purport to, you know, activists and left-wing media.
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These are people that they've literally paid good and way over the market value,
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paid houses, and they often have to relocate the Palestinian, the person selling their house
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because they will get murdered by their own community for selling the house to a Jew.
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So, in the last 20 years, in those houses, they've been under attack
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and they often have tight security there just to protect the Jewish residents
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And in the last 20 years, he goes, they've been under, you know, rock attack,
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but often Molotov cocktail attack, and for 20 years almost,
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The worst case scenario is that the terrorist who throws a Molotov cocktail
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is, you know, arrested and jailed for a bit and then let back out
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and comes back to the violent clans within these Palestinian neighbourhoods
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and, again, re-offends and commits his life back to terrorising the local Jewish residents.
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He said, after the attack, the brutality that Israel experiences now,
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the entire country has come to the realisation that those attacks that they let them get away with
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up until now was a sign of weakness and that they need to draw a line in the sand and say,
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hold on, he basically says that we shouldn't have waited until they fired tens of thousands of rockets
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or hundreds of thousands of rockets over the years.
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We should have done it at the first rocket and we wouldn't be at this point.
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So now, and he says the entire country feels that way now,
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so this time after what we saw in southern Israel, the horrific attacks,
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after that attack thrown at Jewish residents in the Kfar Temani,
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police finally returned fire and killed the terrorists who were attacking.
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because, in fact, when I came to that last time to visit this same,
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he's actually an Australian activist that's been here for many years doing this work,
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There was rocks thrown at me just for being with him.
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because they realise that the security forces are basically telling him,
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a victim of the barbaric attack on the Nova Festival
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And a lot of people around Israel have been walking up to us
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because everybody wants the world to know what's happening here.
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he was showing us on his phone the Nova Festival
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We'll be publishing that in the next day or so.
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where all the victims from that party are now basically created a community.
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So we're going to follow up with a bunch of those stories.
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I can't believe that that was a reality for people
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is actually censoring some of the content that we're creating here,
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in the name of fighting the glorification of terrorism.
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In fact, our story was condemning the terrorism.