Trump tariffs and silence over threat to make Canada a state made Wayne Gretzky the not so great one for many

John Davidson has trouble remembering the past clip Wayne Gretzky visited his puerility location crossed the thoroughfare successful this tiny metropolis a mates hours' thrust southwest of Toronto.

The modestly plain location with a one-car store successful a quiescent residential neighbourhood remains successful the family, but the Great One's visits person been less and farther between, particularly since his beloved begetter Walter died successful 2021. The backyard crystal rink wherever Gretzky developed his generational endowment has since been replaced by a pool.

Now 85, Davidson inactive chases distant the occasional curiosity seeker, a acold outcry from the days erstwhile busloads of children would propulsion up, oregon the clip Wayne and his woman Janet showed up with an entourage, 3 limousines strong. The retired steelworker past lowered his manus to his genu to bespeak however agelong he's known Gretzky, earlier saying: "Wayne's changed a batch since helium went down to the States."

Like galore successful this metropolis of 105,000 and crossed a federation of 39 million, Davidson has trouble squaring the kid helium erstwhile knew, the subordinate who won 4 Stanley Cups successful Edmonton and re-wrote the NHL's scoring records, and the idiosyncratic helium sees now.

At 64, Gretzky is present the taxable of a once-unimaginable statement implicit his loyalty to his autochthonal Canada owed to his ties to U.S. President Donald Trump, whose brazen comments astir the nation's sovereignty person angered Canadians.

"I ever thought the hellhole retired of him," Davidson said of Gretzky. "Hate is simply a unspeakable word. Dislike is simply a amended word.

"It disappoints the hellhole retired of me. And I don't deliberation his begetter would admit it either," helium added. "A batch of radical are pissed disconnected with him close present due to the fact that helium went and kissed the ring."

Gretzky did not respond to messages seeking remark from The Associated Press for this story.

Growing up

Gretzky's on-ice exploits stay legendary and they statesman astatine an aboriginal age. When helium was 11, helium scored 378 goals and 517 points successful 85 games for the atom part Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers. By 13, helium had already scored 1,000 goals, and was fundamentally chased retired of Brantford by adults — adjacent parents of his teammates — booing Gretzky for the attraction helium was generating.

His parents relocated him to play successful Toronto, earlier Gretzky made the leap to the Ontario Hockey League, wherever successful his lone afloat play successful 1977-78 helium scored 70 goals and piled up 182 points, which inactive ranks 2nd connected the league's list.

Though helium played connected 4 NHL teams, ending his vocation with the New York Rangers successful 1999, befitting his No. 99, Gretzky is champion known for his 10 seasons successful Edmonton, including his archetypal erstwhile the Oilers played successful the World Hockey Association. Gretzky became an icon successful Alberta's superior for the championships and attention; his matrimony to American histrion Janet Jones successful July 1988 was called "The Royal Wedding" and broadcast unrecorded crossed Canada.

Brantford is dubbed "The Telephone City" for erstwhile being location to Alexander Graham Bell, but Gretzky's power abounds. His charitable instauration provides for galore section causes, including Special Olympics and distributing escaped hockey sticks to children.

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Inside the four-rink, two-swimming excavation Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre is the region's sports hallway of fame, featuring a ample postulation of the Great One's memorabilia. Outside is simply a statue of Gretzky raising the Stanley Cup with 3 smaller statues looking on, representing his parents and a young Gretzky wearing a Red Wings' Gordie Howe jersey.

All this successful honour of a idiosyncratic who has been gone for a bulk of his life, and makes his location successful the U.S. Of his five children, girl Paulina is champion known for her matrimony to apical golfer Dustin Johnson. And portion the Gretzkys are a acold outcry from the Kardashians, determination is simply a Hollywood radiance to the household that antecedently served arsenic a mild curiosity to astir Canadians.

Trump and Gretzky

It's unclear erstwhile Gretzky and Trump became friends, though it apt revolves astir golf.

In the 1980s, Oilers players enjoyed occasional rounds of play with Trump done his relationship with then-franchise proprietor Peter Pocklington. The narration betwixt Gretzky and the president apt grew stronger done Johnson, who has often golfed with Trump.

Gretzky's ties with Trump mightiness person raised a fewer funny caput turns successful the past, but ne'er approached the turmoil it has reached today.

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Recently the look of Gretzky's statue extracurricular of the Edmonton Oilers arena had been smeared with feces, portion of a polarizing statement that's raised ire among his detractors and eye-rolls from his defenders.

"He's done truthful galore bully things successful some of these countries, helium doesn't request to explicate himself to anybody," said Brantford councilor Dan McCreary, whose ward includes Gretzky sports complex. He referred to Gretzky's critics arsenic being portion of a "cancel culture" movement.

Though nary instrumentality of the president, McCreary called it "a shortage of leadership" successful arsenic blaming Trump and erstwhile Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the fallout. Not mislaid connected McCreary is however Brantford sits successful the crosshairs of the cross-border dispute. The metropolis serves arsenic a proscription hub — a two-and-a-half-hour thrust from 3 borderline crossings — and with a manufacturing basal linked to the car industry, present facing imaginable fallout from U.S. tariffs.

"You mightiness suggest that to him," McCreary said erstwhile asked if Gretzky could enactment successful a bully connection to Trump astir his hometown.

Being Canadian

The effects of the commercialized quality and surge successful patriotism are evident successful Brantford. Grocery stores item Canadian-made products — from crockery to nuts and maple syrup — and provincially controlled liquor stores person removed each U.S. wines and whiskeys from their shelves.

Meantime, the Gretzky sanction is everywhere. Bars diagnostic signed posters. There's a Gretzky enactment country successful a concatenation edifice astir the country from his puerility home. There's the Wayne Gretzky Parkway, a winding five-mile, four-lane thoroughfare that's abruptly go a sticking point.

A consciousness of nationalist pridefulness led to Kat Philp launching a petition to rename the roadworthy aft Walter, who held the honorary title of Brantford's Lord Mayor for his extended assemblage work.

The contented is not whose Wayne Gretzky's friends are — "You bash you," Philp said. Instead, she feels betrayed by his nonaccomplishment to dependable enactment for Canada.

"We ever felt helium was inactive Canadian. We don't consciousness that mode anymore," said Philp, 50, who grew up playing hockey, attended Gretzky's personage slow-pitch tournaments arsenic a teen and was arrogant successful telling radical she was from Gretzky's hometown.

Pocklington, the erstwhile Oilers owner, is stunned by the backlash directed astatine idiosyncratic he's known since purchasing the 17-year-old player's rights successful 1978 and bringing him to Edmonton to usher successful the franchise's heyday earlier trading him to Los Angeles.

"Wayne is not a politician. He's a hockey player. Period. And his bosom has ever been successful Canada, with Canada," Pocklington said from his location successful Desert Palm, California. "I'm not definite he'd basal up successful his ain defence but I deliberation helium astir apt feels atrocious for them much than anything."

For each those defending Gretzky, including his woman Janet and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, what's notable, too, are those who haven't.

Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden declined an interrogation request, penning "This is thing Wayne Gretzky needs to deliberation through," successful an email to the AP. Canada-Russia 1972 Summit Series prima Paul Henderson laughed, saying helium stays retired of politics. And there's not been a peep from Mark Messier, Gretzky's erstwhile teammate and existent TV analyst.

Hall of Fame goalie Dominik Hasek was among the exceptions arsenic the statement implicit Gretzky's bequest lingers with Alex Ovechkin closing successful connected the Great One's NHL goal-scoring title.

"The full satellite saw Wayne astatine a enactment astatine the American president's home," Hasek wrote successful a substance to the AP from his location successful the Czech Republic.

"It is not astonishing to maine that Canadian radical are asking astir the cognition of a antheral who is simply a Canadian icon," Hasek added.

"To beryllium honest, I americium besides funny successful his attitude. He indispensable cognize champion wherefore helium does not explicit himself connected this. Be definite to inquire him."