Billy Steele, 17, was a volunteer cameraman at General Motors Place in Oshawa ON until he spoke to Don Cherry, the host of the popular CBC program Coach's Corner during an event at the centre on January 14, according to the Toronto Star.
By speaking to Cherry, Billy broke the 'no talk' to a celebrity rule in place for employees at the centre. Now Billy has been banned by the arena operator Global Spectrum from working on Rogers TV broadcasts there, the Star reports.
To his credit, Cherry tried to intervene on Billy's behalf but apparently to no avail. Billy is out.
In a world that I often think is on the verge of madness, this incident ranks up there with the worst examples of corporate ineptitude I have seen in ages. You fire a 17-year-old teen, who is really a volunteer with a huge media organization, who speaks to the best known figure in hockey in Canada. And Cherry loves talking to kids.
When I was 17, I sure as hell would have spoken to one of the hockey idols of the day if he had shown up in the old Chapleau Memorial Community Arena.
The Oshawa Civic Centre is actually owned by the city of Oshawa and I encourage you to send an email to the mayor expressing outrage at this incident. He is Mayor John Gray and his email is Email: jgray@oshawa.ca His office phone is 905 436 5600.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/582675
Click here for the Toronto Star article
Leave comments or email me at mj.morris@live.ca
MORE ON SUNDAY FEB 8!
The Oshawa Express in an editorial today calls for cooler heads to prevail in the dispute over the firing of Billy Steele, 17, a volunteer cameraman ot Oshawa's GM Place who lost hbis job because he broke a 'no talk' to celebrities rule and chatted with hockey icon Don Cherry.Here is the link to the editorial.http://www.oshawaexpress.ca/story1489.htmlCongrats to the Oshawa Express
Thanks for the support. Global Spectrum has gone on the record to call my son a "security threat", I never knew Billy was a terrorist. Global Spectrum is not about Community. They are about ego's and money. My son did NOTHING WRONG, he WAS NOT TOLD about a no talk policy, and Rogers TV confirms that. Global Spectrum can spin it all they want. What they did is wrong, and they know it.
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