Don Cherry on Evander Kane: ‘To say a thing like that is absolutely asinine’

In late December, Don Cherry stood up for his “buddy” Evander Kane after the Jets forward came under fire for his infamous ‘money phone’ picture.

Now, he’s doing the exact opposite.

Cherry blasted Kane prior to flying to Winnipeg for Friday’s Jets-Penguins game, saying Kane’s comments — claiming a good portion of the criticism he gets is because he’s black — are “absolutely ridiculous.”

“When he says stuff like that, it gets the crowd against him,” Cherry told Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun. “Of all the places, Winnipeg — an absolutely ridiculous thing to say. And whoever’s advising this kid better start advising him, get him under control.

“Because to say a thing like that is absolutely asinine, as far as I’m concerned.”

Cherry has long been a fan of Kane. In 2009, he had Kane appear as one of the touted draft prospects on Hockey Night in Canada prior to Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals between Pittsburgh and Detroit.

But now it seems Grapes has soured (sorry, had to) on the 21-year-old.

“When you act like he acts — if his name was O’Shaugnessy, he’d still get criticized,” Cherry explained to Friesen. “To say it’s racial is ridiculous.

“He’s gotta stop and grow up, keep his mouth shut and just play hockey.”

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