Hockey Fan Throws Banana at Black Philadelphia Flyers' Player Wayne Simmonds in Racist Taunt

Hockey fan taunts black Philadelphia Flyers' player Wayne Simmonds by throwing banana on the ice as he prepared for a shootout against Detroit Red Wings.

Wayne Simmonds

SHAMEFUL: A hockey fan threw a banana at Philadelphia Flyers' Wayne Simmonds, who is black, in a racist taunt, as he prepared for a shootout Thursday night, the NBC Philadelphia reports.

Simmonds scored on the attempt, which came Thursday night in a pre-season game against the Detroit Red Wings before a neutral crowd in London, Ontario. After the game, Simmonds took the high road when asked about the disturbing incident.

"I don't know if it was because I'm black or not," said Simmonds, who is from Ontario. "Because if it was, that's just somebody being ignorant. When you're black, you kind of expect (racist) things. You learn to deal with it."

It may not have been the first time a fan tried to taunt Simmonds with a banana, according to NBC Sports. A source told the outlet that someone tried to hit Simmonds with one late in the third period when he scored a 3-3 goal to send the contest to overtime.

Simmonds said he was rattled by the fruit toss, but that he managed to keep his focus and score the Flyers’ only goal in the shootout. Source

This is the post-racial America the Republicans and their Tea Party alter-ego want you to believe we are living in. This is ridiculous, but as Simmonds said, this is nothing new. Shameful.