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Don Cherry: 'You get in a fight, you get hurt'

The 'Hockey Night in Canada' host continued to defend fighting in the NHL, one day after George Parros's grisly injury.
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Don Cherry


After George Parros's injury – suffered in a fight with Toronto enforcer Colton Orr – sent the hockey world back into its never-ending debate over the validity of fighting's role in the game, there was one voice yet to hear from.

And, on Tuesday, Hockey Night in Canada host Don Cherry jumped into the fray with an interview on Sportsnet 590 THE FAN.

"It was an accident, he went right over top," Cherry told 590's Brady and Walker. "George, he's a good guy and everything, but he's the one that wanted to go with Orr... He was the guy that was going after Orr because he put out one of (the Canadiens') guys.

"You get in a fight, you get hurt. You take your chances."

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LISTEN to Cherry's full interview with THE FAN 590...

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Cherry's position in support of fighting (also viewable in the video above) is about as predictable as the anti-fisticuff response penned by many following an injury like Parros's, but the reaction from three prominent general managers – including one who played 22 years with the Detroit Red Wings and one three Stanley Cups as one of the toughest players in the game – may be the surprise that tilts the argument to the other side.

Also on Tuesday, three NHL general managers – Steve Yzerman, Jim Rutherford, and Ray Shero – said they supported measures that could eliminate fighting from the NHL game.

Legendary coach Scotty Bowman also backed up the three general managers in an interview with ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.

"It's a pretty complex issue," Bowman said. "But with the emphasis on hits to the head, and the seriousness of concussions, if you look at fighting, it's mostly hits to the head. It's something that has to be looked at."

VIDEO: Montreal's George Parros suffers a concussion in a fight with Toronto's Colton Orr...