Some Toronto councillors are wearing pink today in a lighthearted protest after hockey commentator Don Cherry lashed out at “left-wing pinkos” in a speech during Tuesday's mayoral investiture.

“I think everyone is pretty upset about what happened yesterday,” said Coun. Mike Layton, who was wearing a pink shirt, tie and socks. “I think a certain level of decorum and civility that this chamber should represent was breached. We want to make that statement that you know what he insulted people. I think you’re seeing a little bit of that outrage. We don’t like being called names and that type of behaviour doesn’t have a place in this chamber or anywhere at city hall.”

The pink brigade at city council also included Shelley Carroll (turtleneck); Maria Augimeri (jacket, skirt); Ana Bailao (scarf); Janet Davis (jacket); and Pam McConnell (scarf).

“I wanted to wear pink today for council because I wanted to restore dignity to pink and to the council chambers. I think it’s important that we re-establish decorum and our best professional conduct in the council chambers,” said Davis.

Merchandisers in Toronto were also getting in on the act.

Spacing magazine took to its readers to choose the design of their “left wing pinkos” buttons and fridge magnets, while Biking Toronto will be producing a T-shirt in commemoration.

The items were in part of continued online reaction Wednesday to Don Cherry’s comments at Rob Ford’s inauguration a day earlier.

In a speech to the inaugural meeting of the newly elected Toronto city council, Cherry blasted “the left-wing pinkos out there.”

“I’m wearing pinko for all the pinkos out there that ride bicycles and everything,” Cherry said in the opening of his speech.

He closed his comments with: “Put that in your pipe, you left-wing kooks.”

Spacing publisher Matthew Blackett said that as of noon Wednesday, readers were responding to the button with the hockey stick in it, but that they also wanted a bike in there somewhere.

“We might produce two or three or four designs” with different graphics on them, Blackett said, such as one with the hockey stick, one with a bike, etc.

Blackett said he began thinking about making the buttons, which are a Spacing staple, after Cherry’s speech Tuesday. Blackett monitored the online reaction and designed the three concepts.

He said fridge magnets will also be produced, a Spacing first. The buttons and magnets should be on the streets — and in the mail — this week.

“Certainly we’ll have them in a few stores by Friday at the latest,” he said.

The urban affairs magazine is also encouraging its readers to use any of the button images as their Facebook and Twitter photos.

The Biking Toronto T-shirt is modelled after the group’s previous “I bike T.O.” logo shirts. The shirt reads “Left-wing pinko! I bike T.O.!”

“The text is in pink (of course!) and the shirt itself is a deep cranberry red, because all commies wear red, duh,” reads the blog post about the shirt on the group’s website.

It retails for $24.95 and 100 per cent of the profits from the shirt will go to bike-related charities.

Shortly after news broke Tuesday about Cherry’s comments, “Don Cherry” became a trending topic on Twitter, and people began discussing his comments online and off.

“It was not appropriate,” Councillor Adam Vaughan told the Star’s Robyn Doolittle.

Councillor Shelley Carroll, touted as the leader of the left-wing opposition, took to her Twitter account.

“So the name calling begins. Kicked off, I want you all to remember, by Don Cherry.”

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The public also weighed in on the social-networking website, with more comments against Cherry’s speech than for.

“Don Cherry spoke out for our mayor yesterday sporting a hot pink jacket,” wrote @sallworth. “And he calls left-wingers "kooks". What a buffoon.”

@Theomiller echoed the sentiment: “Don Cherry was like Don Rickles yesterday. . . except not funny”

Some users on Twitter were encouraging all those “left-wing pinkos” to wear pink:

“With friends like Don Cherry, who needs enemies? #wearpink,” tweeted @canayjun.

Cherry did have his supporters: “Don't much care for Don Cherry, but what he said today about lefties in Canada was spot-on!,” said @WernerPatels.

Over in the blogosphere, high-profile American sports blogs such as Deadspin and Puck Daddy picked up the story.

“Don Cherry hates left-wing pinkos, is totally insane,” was the headline Wednesday morning on Deadspin.

Puck Daddy, meanwhile, listed the five things to be learned from Cherry’s speech (No. 4: Pinkos ride bicycles).

And on thestar.com, more than 400 comments were made on our pinkos story Tuesday.

Some were positive toward Cherry’s speech and didn’t understand the uproar:

“You lefties sure hate it when the shoe is on the other foot, don't you,” wrote Soulchaser. “We had 7 years of leftie nonsense from City Hall. You lost, get over it.”

“The MSM, especially in Toronto, are pinkos. What is the problem with free speech?” asked Westerner. “Does the truth hurt?”

— with files from Robyn Doolittle, David Rider and Star wire services

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