Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Ron MacLean clarifies 9/11 remarks

Ron MacLean - Hockey Night In Canada

The CBC’s Ron MacLean released a statement today clarifying the remarks he made referencing 9/11 prior to last night’s Capitals-Rangers broadcast.

First, what he said yesterday (you can watch the video on Deadspin):

“From the capital of the U.S. of A., it’s New York and Washington. The economic and political engines of America, united in the birth of the country, they’re also linked in tragedy. They were the twin targets of the coordinated attacks on 9/11. It’s crazy to compare what the emergency responders did during that time, but a spirit has to start somewhere.

…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

…The pain these men have faced, the price they keep on paying, the hearts they keep on lifting.

…We all know about the firefighters. Our worst day is their every day.”

Now, his statement:

“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.

“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.”