You would think that in this day and age racism should be a thing of the past in sports, but indeed it is still there lurking in the dark recesses of people’s minds. It’s unfortunate for the players who have to deal with it and appalling to the rest of us who have long since dismissed such ideas. There’s no place for it in sports.
In a pre-season game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario, a fan decided to throw a banana at Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds as he took his chance on the shootout. Wayne Simmonds happens to be black. Wayne Simmonds scored on the chance despite the banana which did not appear to hit him.
Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers winger
Many think that this wasn’t an act of racism and that it was more about the timing of the gesture. One fan tweeted that a fan tried to throw a banana earlier in the game after Simmonds had scored but the banana didn’t make it to the ice. Even if it wasn’t a racist act, it’s still a disgraceful thing for a fan to do. The banana landed in Simmonds path as he skated up and it could have caused him to slip up on his chance. Not only could it have disrupted the game but it could’ve caused injury to Simmonds. What right does any fan have to interfere with the game itself?
Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to Simmonds after the game about it, though Simmonds hoped it wasn’t because he is black:
“I caught it from the side of my eye,” Simmonds said. “It was a banana. Hopefully, that wasn’t directed towards me being black. Because if it was that’s just somebody being ignorant.”
“”When you’re a black man playing in a predominantly white man’s sport, you’ve got to come to expect things like that,” Simmonds said. “Over the past 23 years of my life, I’ve come to expect some things like that. But I’m older and more mature now, I kind of just left things roll off [my back]. I try not to think about stuff like that.”
There were a number of NHL players and people involved with the game that showed support for Simmonds including former goalie Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes on Twitter), Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks (@LoganCouture) and even NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Some Flyers players, who remain anonymous had some choice words for the fan who did this as well.
Although incidents like this are rare in professional sports, it’s a sobering reminder that racism still exists in 2011 and has many different faces. It has no place in sports or in life and people really need to grow up.
Further Reading:
Fan tosses banana peel at Flyers’ Simmonds
Update:
According to London, Ontario police, the banana tosser was caught and says that he’s not a racist but a Wings fan:
Banana tosser a Wings fan, not a racist
