In a well-written diatribe, The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont chastised London, Ontario fans for supposedly failing to blow the whistle on whoever threw a banana at Wayne Simmonds. He ended his mini-rant with some pointed words: “Speaking up won’t guarantee that it will stop. Remaining silent, though, guarantees that it will continue.”
As it turns out, someone spoke up after all - in fact, today’s news is that multiple witnesses provided the same name to authorities. QMI Agency reports that local police attained the name of the person who probably threw the banana peel at Simmonds as he scored a shootout goal against the Detroit Red Wings on Sept. 22. Officials admit that charges haven’t been made just yet, although investigations are ongoing.
Police didn’t provide a description of the suspect, which might disappoint Kevin Weekes. Weekes - a former NHL goalie who dealt with a similar incident during a 2002 playoff series in Montreal - said that the likeness of the guilty party* should be “plastered everywhere” to discourage similar behavior via well-deserved humiliation.
It’s probably not within peoples’ rights to do that to the banana-thrower, but that doesn’t mean he or she won’t suffer consequences for those ugly actions. This report reveals two reprimands that could come from this incident.The banana-tosser could be subject to a charge of “engaging in a prohibited activity” under the Trespass to Property Act.
John Labatt Centre officials said people throwing things on the ice are generally ejected, but in this instance, a person could be banned from the facility for a year or longer.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be excessive to ban that person from attending hockey games, period.
* Or maybe guilty parties, considering the rumors that more than one banana was thrown, with an earlier attempt missing the ice.