Edmonton — A sign reading U$ Lackey was hung Tuesday on a statue of Wayne Gretzky in protest of the hockey star's recent comments supporting U.S. President George W. Bush in the war against Iraq.
Employees of Skyreach Centre quickly removed the cardboard insult from the statue at the entrance to the arena, the home of Gretzky's former team, the Edmonton Oilers.
Earlier this week, Gretzky praised Bush as a great leader, saying he backed him 100 per cent. However, he also shied away from criticizing Canada's decision to stay out of the conflict.
"The reality is, you know, the people we should be concerned about are the people fighting in Iraq, the people who are there on the missions," Gretzky said Tuesday.
"We shouldn't be worried about what entertainers or athletes or Wayne Gretzky or Don Cherry says. It's immaterial."
Cherry and his Hockey Night in Canada cohort Ron MacLean came under criticism for debating the Iraq war on their Coach's Corner segment on the weekend.
CBC officials said they did not think the debate was appropriate and viewers flooded the network with more than 1,500 calls and e-mails, many of them denouncing Cherry's position in support of the United States.
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