Czech Extraliga team Chomutov received a $1,555 fine on Tuesday after the club’s fans subjected Wayne Simmonds to racial taunts during a Sunday game, Agence France-Presse reports.
Chomutov officials condemned the fans’ actions on their Web site and also wrote Simmonds a letter of apology while Simmonds’ current team Liberec also provided a statement.
If the ordeal bothers Simmonds, it seems like he’s using it as motivation.
Much like scoring during a shootout as a preseason incident occurred in 2011, Simmonds had a productive day on the ice in his latest game. He scored two goals in a 3-2 Liberec win against Brno, according to NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer.
It’s already been a busy locked-out season for Simmonds considering this situation and the fact that he bolted from his German second division team to join Liberec almost a week ago.
On the bright side for Simmonds, his big new six-year, $23.85 million extension doesn’t kick in until the 2013-14 campaign, so this strange exodus at least won’t hurt his wallet quite as much as it could have.
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