If people don’t believe racism still exist in this world then they are totally naïve. Racism is still alive and well and not only do we see it in society but in the sporting world as well.
Yesterday, Philadelphia Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds, who is black, had a banana thrown at him from the stands during a 4-3 exhibition loss to the Detroit Red Wings in London, Ontario.
From sbnation.com:
As the Flyers faced the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, Wayne Simmonds, who is black, stepped up to take a penalty shot. As he did, someone in the crowd threw a banana onto the ice in what can only be describe as a sick and reprehensible taunt.
Here’s the word from Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News.
“Someone threw a banana from the stands at Wayne Simmonds as he was going in on a shootout. Totally uncalled for and wrong. He still scored. And I’m not kidding you, it was a banana. I need to get confirmation when I go down to the locker room. #stunned”
Even worse, it happened more than once, says Danny Gray, a fan who was at the game.
“There was a banana thrown at Simmonds when he tied it up. Didn’t make it to the ice. Hit someone I was sitting with.”
This just goes to show you that there are ignorant and racist people everywhere, not just in the United States. This kind of behavior shouldn’t be tolerate not just in sports but anywhere.
I hope Wayne doesn’t let this foolish incident get to him too much. With him playing in a predominantly white sport I’m pretty sure he has endure other incidents.
He just has to move on from it and play his game.
