LONDON, Ontario, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A hockey fan has been charged with throwing a banana onto the ice during an NHL pre-season game while a black player was playing, police said Wednesday.
London, Ontario, police Chief Brad Duncan said Chris Moorhouse, 26, of London, is charged with engaging in "a prohibited activity on premises" under the Trespass to Property Act, the London Community News reported.
The chief said if convicted, Moorhouse could be fined up to $2,000. No date was set for his appearance in Provincial Offenses Court.
The incident occurred Thursday during a pre-season game between Philadelphia and Detroit. The Flyers' Wayne Simmonds, who is black, was about to make a shootout shot when the banana flew out of the stands. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had condemned the episode as an apparent racial incident.
But Duncan, who said Moorhouse has expressed remorse, said the banana toss "did not meet the threshold" of a hate crime.
"As chief of the London Police Service, I ask that members of the public allow the court process to unfold and that no one take matters into their own hands," Duncan said.
"Like any others, I was disgusted by the incident."
