Simmonds blasts 'gutless' tweeters
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Simmonds blasts 'gutless' tweeters
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds was sickened by the dozens of racist and vulgar comments that Twitter users directed at his close friend, Washington’s Joel Ward, after he scored an overtime goal to defeat host Boston, 2-1, in Game 7 of their first-round series Wednesday.
“It’s the Internet. They can say whatever they want, and they don’t have to show their faces,” said Simmonds, who, like Ward, is one of 28 black players in the NHL. “It’s disgusting. Things like that have happened to me before. It’s not something you want to happen, but it’s sad in this day and age that it continues to happen.”
Simmonds, 23, and Ward, 31, both grew up in Scarborough, Ontario, but they didn’t meet until about five years ago. They have trained together in the last two off-seasons.
“We’re good buddies and it was nice to see him score. You could see the relief on his face,” Simmonds said after the Flyers’ practice Thursday in Voorhees. “The celebration was classic. He just smashed his stick into the ice, and it was pretty funny.”
Simmonds, who denied tweets that he received racial slurs during the Flyers’ recent games in Pittsburgh, said social media is getting out of hand.
“It is what it is. People can be as gutless as they want,” he said. “They don’t have to show up. They just throw a comment out on the Internet and it’s getting kind of ridiculous. Social media is not meant for that. It’s for ‘Say, hey, nice score. Congratulations.’ You’re not supposed to throw things out like that.”
In the preseason, a fan threw a banana peel at Simmonds during a Sept. 22 exhibition in London, Ontario, against Detroit. The 26-year-old man was fined $200 for “provincial trespassing,” but police said there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him with a hate crime.
“I guess it is what it is, but it’s sad I have to say that, though,” Simmonds said of the latest incidents.
Ward told USA Today the slurs were “shocking to see, but it didn't ruin my day. It doesn't faze me at all. We won, and we are moving on. … People are going to say what they want to say.”
Ted Leonsis, the Capitals’ owner, wrote on his blog that “there should be zero tolerance for this kind of hate mongering. Their messages should now stay glued into the algorithms to place a forever warning and a mark upon these people and their actions.”
Leonsis called Ward “a great teammate and a great citizen. He is now the star of stars in our city for his heroics” on Wednesday night.
Ward said he thought it was “just kids” who tweeted the comments.
Contact Sam Carchidi @scarchidi@phillynews.com, or on Twitter @BroadStBull.
I know that the best thing to do is to ignore it, but why do people say it?
The Boston fans know that it's racist and wrong; Flyer fans know that it's wrong to wish concussions on players; Pitt fans know that it's wrong to make whatever hateful comments they made about the Flyers.
It's just a sad statement that sports means so much.— WhatWhiners- hey stop the b.s. america is a country based and built on racism period there are more than just a few people" out their like that and they reside in ALL sectors pretending racism is miniscule is nothing but a lie..when jack johnson won a fight against a so-called white man whites in different parts of the country would lynch black men same mindset then is still here today.— only 9
- If you really want to show your support for Simmonds and Ward, the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation is always looking for volunteers.— AreaMan
- Racism is going to be around as long as stupid people are alive. I say, if you're good enough to make the team then I don't care what color you are, what sex you are, or what species you are. If you can score and play decent D then welcome to the team. Personally, I jumped up and screamed good things when Ward scored and sent the B's on an early vacation. I hate the Bruins- bunch of dirty thugs.— Fly Guy
- My hats off to black hockey players. They are class acts.I am a big fan of Wayne Simmonds. Positive for the NHL.
The NBA and NFL have far too many idiots like Men of World Peace and Michael Vick that cannot speak or act properly. No Class!— mik5 - Way to go Simmer!— MBFlyerfan
- Good supportive comments re Simmonds, yet Flyer fans posted many homophobic slurs about the Pens -- individual players and as a team -- on your blog during the Pens v Flyers series. I am a Penguins fan, but I find this very disturbing.— pensfaninphilly
