Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds target of racism during exhibition game in London
There are always bad people in different parts of the world, but Philadelphia Flyers forward and former Los Angeles Kings shooter, Wayne Simmonds, did not let that get the good of him and outperformed during their exhibition match against Detroit Red Wings
in London, Thursday night.
Being one of the few black players in the National Hockey League (NHL) and playing ice hockey, which is without a doubt a predominately white sport, a spectator threw a banana peel aimed at Simmonds, who at the time was going down the ice for a shot.
Missing Simmonds, the forward seemed unfazed by the attempt by a clearly disturbed spectator, and with class, shot the puck for a goal.
"At first, I thought I better get another shot if I miss", Simmonds told the Inquirer about him shooting a jaw dropping shot which tied the game, forcing overtime. "But I did score, so that was good".
For Simmonds, unfortunately, this is not the first time someone has done something of this nature to him based on the colour of his skin, which at this point in time is very disturbing and uncalled for indeed.
"I've never had a banana thrown at me before. That's a first for me", Simmonds told the Inquirer. "I guess it's something I obviously have to deal with -- being a black player playing a predominantly white sport. 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".
Darren Helm scoring in the first period of the matchup to put Detroit ahead of Philadelphia while Valtteri Filppula extended the lead to 2-0 with less than five minutes remaining in the second.
Philadelphia’s James van Riemsdyk added their first nearly two minutes later. Ian White put the pressure on for Flyers in the third period but Flyers came back with two straight goals by van Riemsdyk and the tying goal by Wayne Simmonds to force overtime.
Ian White scored again during the final round of the shootout to give Detroit the exhibition win, but for Simmonds, the third period goal was more than enough to shut up those who are still against colour and creed living in the 21st centure.
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