Police investigating banana toss 

DEBORA VAN BRENK

Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds moves in for his shootout attempt against the Red Wings after a spectator tossed a banana on to the ice in London, Ont., Sep. 22, 2011. (TOM SZCEZERBOWSKI/QMI Agency)

LONDON, ONT. - Police are following up with several witnesses and tips after a banana was thrown on the ice at an NHL preseason game last week.
Police initially didn't plan to investigate the banana toss -- widely seen in the public as a racist gesture against black NHL player Wayne Simmonds -- but changed their minds Monday after receiving "multiple" tips, Const. Amanda Van Dooren said Monday.
A suspect, she said, could be charged under the Trespass to Property Act, a section about "engaging in a prohibited activity" -- namely, throwing something on the ice.
At the very least, that could result in that person's being banned from the John Labatt Centre in London, she said.
She said no photo evidence has so far come forward of the incident, widely decried in conventional and social media.
During a shootout in an exhibition NHL game Sept. 22,  between the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings, someone tossed a banana on the ice as Simmonds skated in on the Detroit net to take a shot.
Since then, London Mayor Joe Fontana has released a letter of apology to Simmonds; other fans have offered rewards for tips that could lead to a suspect's arrest; and the ordeal has attracted national attention and ire.
Rich Trella, assistant general manager of Global Spectrum, which operates the JLC, said seven or eight people have contacted the facility to provide leads on who the banana-tosser might be. Others have called to express their dismay about what happened.
"We received quite a bit of information on the weekend," Trella said. "People have really stepped up."
He said it's not up to the facility to determine the tosser's motivation but said that person, if identified, would be banned from the facility for "a minimum of a year" and potentially longer.
Generally, people throwing anything on the ice are immediately ejected from that event, he said.
Cameras at the game showed the banana lying on the ice -- Simmonds skated around it and scored -- but didn't show specifically where it came from.
Asked if London police were also looking to lay a charge under Canada's hate-crime legislation, Van Dooren said, "It's still under investigation."
Anyone with information can call police at 519-661-5670.
Former NHL goalie Kevin Weekes also waded into the debate, writing on his Twitter feed soon after the game that he was "extremely disappointed in what happened. "There's NO place for this in sports since sport connects us not divides us."
Ironically, the incident took place as Weekes was part of an NHL delegation in Washington, D.C. for a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation legislative conference.