Politics and Pucks

Wayne Simmonds

Last night, racism reared its ugly head in the realm of hockey. During a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings in London, Ontario, a banana peel was thrown at Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds, who is black, said the following to the press:

"It was a banana. Hopefully, that wasn't directed towards me being black. "Because if it was, that's just somebody being ignorant."

Commissioner Gary Bettman and many others have reached out to say that racism does not belong in hockey. The NHL has a nasty history of discrimination problems, but has become a lot more open and tolerant in recent years. In fact Kevin Weekes and Willie O'Ree have become delegates to the NHL for the Black Congressional Caucus earlier this week.

Willie O'Ree (Right) talks to Kevin Weekes (Left)

Even if race relations in the NHL have improved, problems have still existed. For example, back in 2002, Kevin Weekes had a banana thrown at him during the Stanley Cup Finals with the Carolina Hurricanes. This makes the situation even more peculiar, because the Red Wings were on the ice during both of these incidents. Peter Worrell has reported experiencing problems while playing with the Florida Panthers. Even the Canadiens' P.K. Subban was victim of a gaffe on TSN last season by Darren Pang (which Pang immediately apologized in the following intermission. It was also noted that it was a complete mistake that he deeply felt awful about).

Despite the issue of race, it's good to see that the players are both supportive and even making light of the situation:

“Didn’t know London, Ont. was a stop on the Mario Kart tour,” the Hurricanes’ Anthony Stewart (@EhStew13) wrote.

“The incident that happened in London tonight involving my best friend Wayne Simmonds was simply disgusting,” said the Blues’ Chris Stewart (@CStewSTL25), who lives with Simmonds in the summers, wrote. “It’s 2011, ppl [sic] need to grow up.”

Racism has no place in sports. As fans, we should do what hockey players are taught at an early age, leave the prejudices at the door of the locker-room and support your fellow teammates. We have to remember, that hockey truly is for everyone. It's good to see that the NHL has been very quick to react to issues of racism in the game, and hope this reaction continues if there are future incidents.

(Via Philly.com)