Black NHL player Wayne Simmonds says he's not going to comment any more on a fan throwing a banana peel on the ice as the Philadelphia Flyers forward was attempting an overtime shootout goal against the Detroit Red Wings in an exhibition game in London, Ontario Thursday night.
"It was unfortunate that this incident happened but I am above this sort of stuff," said Simmons in a statement Friday. "This is something that is out of my control. Moving forward, this incident is something I will no longer comment on so I can just focus on playing hockey for the Philadelphia Flyers."
Simmonds drew strong support from other NHL players on Twitter. St. Louis Blues forward Chris Stewart tweeted: "The incident that happened in london tonight involving my best friend wayne simmonds was simply disgusting, its 2011 ppl need to grow up."
London native Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks tweeted: "To hear what happened tonight to him in my hometown is awful. No need for this in sports, or life."
PREVIOUS: A fan threw a banana peel at black NHL hockey player Wayne Simmonds during a Philadelphia Flyers-Detroit Red Wings exhibition game in London, Ontario Thursday night, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman condemned the "obviously stupid and ignorant action" on Friday.
Simmonds, a right winger, was moving in on Red Wings goalie Jordan Pearce during a shootout when a fan in the upper deck threw a banana peel on the ice as an apparent racial taunt. Simmonds scored anyway but the Flyers lost 4-3.
The 23-year old winger told the paper he saw the banana peel out of the corner of his eye:
Hopefully, that wasn't directed towards me being black. Because if it was, that's just somebody being ignorant.
Peter Luukko, president of Comcast-Spectator which owns the Flyers, issued a statement on the incident Thursday night, according to Yahoo Sports:
It appeared as though a fan threw an object onto the ice during the shootout. Unfortunately, we weren't able to identify the individual.
Bettman weighed in with a statement Friday saying:
We have millions of great fans who show tremendous respect for our players and for the game. The obviously stupid and ignorant action by one individual is in no way representative of our fans or the people of London, Ontario.
San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture tweeted: "Wayne Simmonds is a good friend of mine. To hear what happened tonight to him in my hometown is awful. No need for this in sports, or life."
Willie O'Ree, who became the NHL's first black player in 1958 and now heads up the league's diversity program, said in a 2008 interview that he endured racial taunts in his playing days:
If you speared me or butt-ended me, I went after you. But when it came to racial remarks, I let it go in one ear and out the other. If I responded to every word that was said to me, I would have been in the penalty box all the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment