MONTREAL, QC — Two weeks ago, a veteran of Montreal radio, Ted Bird posted an article on his Bird’s Eye View Blog. It drew an angry response from the attention-seeking Richard Martineau. That was quickly followed by a soft-pedal rebuke by Stu Cowan.
Now it’s my turn to offer an opinion.
What do journalists in Montreal do when Habs news is scarce? They write about each other.
What was the topic to spur on this sprint to our respective keyboards? Language and the Montreal Canadiens. Bet you haven’t heard that one before?
It all started with a reporter’s insensitive question just after Andrei Markov took an oath to receive his Canadian citizenship with 31 other newcomers last month.
Bird described it this way, “The fact that Andrei Markov was asked by a reporter within minutes of being sworn in as a Canadian citizen whether he would now take the time to learn French would be despicable were it not so predictable.”
Indeed, it was a dumb question.
Inappropriate. Disrespectful. Rude.
I think that most reasonably-minded people can agree on that.
As Bird asks, “How big does the chip on your shoulder have to be to inject petty politics into a milestone event in someone’s life?”
Well said.
But Bird went on to answer the reporter’s question on Markov’s behalf.
“He doesn’t need to learn French,” wrote Bird, explaining that Markov’s workplace, the NHL, is an English-speaking community.
It was this sentence that brought a storm of vicious, narrow-minded, anti-Anglophone posts to the comments section. It was like chum in the water. And right on time, the shark arrived in the person of Journal de Montreal columnist Richard Martineau.
Martineau does only one thing well: attracting attention to himself. He was voted the Clique’s worst journalist in Quebec in 2009.
Martineau’s attack on Bird is rather thin on substance. In order to fill space, he included an irrelevant personal story about an Air Transat flight. Instead he selected a few extreme anti-French comments from the website and waited for the predictable results. In essence, he lit the fuse, and waited for the fireworks.
What do you expect from someone who used to write a piece called “Shockwaves?” Martineau is a buffoon and a provocateur, and I think he likes it that way.
I had the misfortune to work with him on a project when he was with TV network TQS. After tossing out the notes and research material, Martineau made off-the-cuff and intentionally inflammatory statements and then sat back to watch the “fun” begin.
For readers who aren’t familiar with him, it’s predictable that Martineau would disagree with Bird (or anyone else) on the topic of language.
On Canada Day, Martineau posted a diatribe against multiculturalism. Martineau wrote “Canada is a foreign country. Its traditions are not mine, its culture is not mine, and its concept of a country has nothing to do with what we stand for in Quebec.”
That’s not exactly a very evolved, inclusive view.
Into this swirling cauldron stepped Stu Cowan, sports editor at the Gazette. Cowman takes a round-about path to mildly disagree with Bird. He says that “Markov should make the effort to learn some French, even if it’s just to say “bonjour,” “comment ca va?” and “merci.””
No disagreement there, Stu.
But Cowan continues, “He should even try to expand on that to learn some simple sentences he can use for postgame interviews on RDS.”
Cowman is a decent sportswriter, but we are going to part ways here.
Even to learn basic conversational French is not a trivial exercise. It would be consuming time with no benefit to Markov’s game on the ice. If Cowan is simply suggesting that Markov memorize some stock phrases that he can toss around in the locker room, I frankly don’t see the point. And I doubt that the Francophone journalists would be so easily pacified.
I’m glad that Cowan included Tom Kostopoulos in his article. He wrote, “When Kostopoulos was with the Canadiens, I admired him for his courage on the ice and also for his courage to stand in front of the RDS cameras and use the Ontario high school French he learned while growing up in Mississauga. Just like his style on the ice, it was all effort and I’m sure it was much appreciated by the RDS viewers.”
I admired Kostopoulos for many reasons including that one. But even if it’s true that the viewers appreciated his language effort, I’m not so sure that the RDS broadcasters did. On more than one occasion, they ridiculed Kostopoulos’ French language skills following an interview.
And let’s not forget Michel Beaudry’s on-air xenophobic rant against Kostopoulos on 110% that ended with “Tom Kosto-f**king-poulos!” His fellow panelists weren’t any better. Michel Bergeron was in hysterics, and then filled his Depends when Beaudry repeated the derogatory insult a second time.
Not known for being quick on his feet, P.J. Stock tried to defend his own laughter by saying that Beaudry is a comedian. To some, I suppose.
But the point is that I’m not sure that I agree with Cowan that hours in a classroom is going to buy all that much goodwill. It didn’t seem to save Scott Gomez from being vilified.
Do we want Andrei Markov sitting in Berlitz classes or rehabbing his injury at the Complexe Sportif Bell? Should Scott Gomez be pouring over Rosetta Stone tapes or improving his faceoff ability?
Maybe it’s time to change our perspective on this issue.
I have no interest in Cowan’s next performance evaluation including a grade on the speed of his slapshot. I don’t think it’s appropriate to tie Martineau’s compensation to his timed-skate between the bluelines.
Such talents have nothing to do with being a good journalist. Similarly, the language issue is irrelevant to being a hockey player in the NHL.
But, learning simple greetings isn’t so hard is it?
So to the mainstream media, I say, you first! Given that a journalist’s job is communication, it should be easy, right?
Here’s a few Russian phrases to start you off:
Добрый день! (Good afternoon)
Я плохо говорю по-русски (My Russian is bad)
Вы говорите по-французски (Do you speak French?)
Maybe learning a new language is not so straightforward, is it? Especially when you are an elite defenseman in the NHL who is battling players from 29 other teams over an 82-game schedule.
Besides, why are some so anxious to assimilate the language and culture of newcomers to match the dominant group in the province? Imagine the firestorm if the same logic was applied continent-wide. A more modern view is to be tolerant and accepting in building a healthy diversity.
Having said that, hasn’t the discussion completed exited the realm of the hockey arena at this point?
Perhaps the simplest solution is to transition to the point where we can agree that language and birthplace have no place in the discussion of building a hockey team to compete for the Stanley Cup.
Is it possible, even in Montreal? I think so.
For those who disagree, here’s another phrase that might prove helpful for you:
Говорите, пожалуйста, медленнее (Could you speak more slowly?)
(photo credit: Getty)