Every so often I write the same phrase. The same nine words. I feel same way every time I write them, too. Disappointment. Shame. Embarrassment
Apparently we haven’t come as far as I think.
I call it racism, predjudice or lack of common sense. The NHL calls it “stupid and ignorant.”
During an exhibition hockey game In Canada on Thursday night a fan threw a banana onto the ice during the shootout between the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers.
More specifically when Wayne Simmonds was skating toward goalie Jordan Pierce. Simmonds is black.
“I guess it’s something I obviously have to deal with — being a black player playing a predominantly white sport,” Simmonds told reporters after the game. “I’ve grown a lot playing in this league and throughout my whole life. I’m not going to dwell on that. It’s over with now.”
While Simmonds also said he didn’t know if the act was intentionally racist, he did say that he is accustomed to assuming so.
Simmonds did score during the shootout. He also scored with less than a minute left in regulation to tie the game, 3-3.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called the act “obviously stupid and ignorant” and in no way represents “our fans or the people of London, Ontario.”
But to the rest of the world, it does Mr. Bettman.
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