The former NBA MVP, Charles Barkley, targeted the Canadians who have criticized the NHL NHL Wayne Gretzky in recent weeks.
Gretzky was the subject of a meticulous examination of the Canadians for his friendship with President Donald Trump, and the woman of the great hockey said that the criticism had left Gretzky “the broken heart”.
Barkley called these Canadians as “fools”.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover on Foxnews.com
Wayne Gretzky arrives for the inauguration ceremony before Donald Trump was sworn in as 47th President of the United States in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb / Pool via Imagn Images)
“You crazy them in Canada by giving” the big one “it is difficult,” said Barkley in a segment of “Inside The NBA” on Thursday. “Wayne Gretzky is the biggest hockey player of all time. He is the nicest.”
Trump has become one of Canada’s most controversial personalities since returning to functions in January after suggesting that the country should become the 51st US state and threaten to impose Canadian import prices in the United States
NHL Star Dishes on Team USA Players’ American Pride: “ I have not seen this Americans in general ”
Gretzky attended a victory party after Trump beat Vice-President Kamala Harris in the 2024 elections. Gretzky was seen bearing a Maga hat shortly after and attended the inauguration of Trump.
“The fools in Canada gave him a hard time because of the price with Trump and everything,” said Barkley. “He has nothing to do with that. He played hockey. He is the greatest hockey player ever.
The New York Rangers Wayne Gretzky Center in action during a pre-match skate before the start of the Rangers match with Florida Panthers in Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, October 8, 1996. (Zoran Milich / Allsport)
Trump said he had asked Gretzky to become the next “Governor of Canada” after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would resign. But after Gretzky expressed support for “Canada remaining a separate country, rather than becoming a 51st darling and magnificent state”, ” Trump told Gretzky a “free agent”.
“I do not want anyone in Canada to say something wrong about it. He supports Canada as it should, as it should, even if it is not as good as it could be part of the world’s largest and most powerful country, the good ole ‘USA!” Trump wrote in a social article of truth.
Gretzky’s friendship and interactions with Trump in the controversy caused a success against the legend of Canadian hockey, even if he has been universally loved in the country since his player career.
The New York Wayne Gretzky Rangers celebrate a goal in the third period of a match against Dallas stars in Dallas on November 7, 1997. (AP photo / lm otero, file)
In response, the legend of Canadian hockey Bobby Orr wrote a column in the Toronto Sun expressing disappointment when he read Gretzky’s criticism.
“As people can be capricious, when someone who has given so much time and efforts to Canadian hockey is treated in this way,” said the orr column. “Listen, we all have our personal convictions because they relate to things like religion and politics. Wayne respects your right to such beliefs – why can’t you respect his?”
Gretzky’s wife Janet Gretzky then shared the orr column on social networks, indicating that criticism had “broken his heart”.
“Thank you Mr. Bobby Orr. Your words mean the world of Wayne and his family, I have never met anyone who is more proud to be a Canadian and it broke his heart to read and see the comments bad … He would do everything to make the Canadians proud, with his love for hockey and his country”, Janet Written in an Instagram publication Sharing the Orr column.
