The Players' Tribune: The Astronaut - By Wayne Simmonds

[MMC]

The Astronaut | By Wayne Simmonds

Click to read more...

 

[FlyTimmo]

Nice read. And I agree with him. Willie O'Ree belongs in the HHOF. Probably as a builder.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Wayne,

Buddy....you have an article about astronauts and you didn't mention a real astronaut? I'm just....disappointed, man. Did this guy mean nothing to you?

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[ShonSaunders]

Wayne,

Buddy....you have an article about astronauts and you didn't mention a real astronaut? I'm just....disappointed, man. Did this guy mean nothing to you?

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Cosmonaut. Bryz is a cosmonaut.

 

[IndySpar]

Thank you Wayne Simmonds. That was a beautifully written tribute to Willie O'Ree (you are right, he should be in the HHOF) and your parents.

 

[Jtown]

If Earl Lloyd is in the HOF then so should Willie O'Ree

 

[Machinehead]

Wayne seems like a well-spoken, genuine dude.

One of my favorites.

 

[FlyTimmo]

Wayne seems like a well-spoken, genuine dude.

One of my favorites.

he is very hard to dislike.

 

[HenrikW]

People tend to forget that its hall of FAME, not hall of decent career / good stats. If anything he belongs to hhof because he was a pioneer

 

[Filthy Dangles]

he is very hard to dislike.

Except when he's in your crease....which is like 50% of his time on this planet

 

[Machinehead]

he is very hard to dislike.

I remember he had a thing with McDonagh two seasons ago and McDonagh got hurt, which made a lot of Rangers fans rather cross at Simmonds. But he was challenged by McIlrath the next game and immediately dropped the gloves. He didn't have to accept that fight at all and I wouldn't have blamed him for walking away, but he stepped up on his own volition and answered and that showed a lot of respect for the opponent. I gained a lot of respect for Simmonds that day.

 

[Rebels57]

Love Simmer. Such a hard working class act.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Anyway, excellent read. Wayne Simmonds has always been well spoken and he was eloquent in this piece for the Tribune as well.

Particularly enjoyed his thoughts on O'Ree and the racism/prejudice that black and other minorities face growing up if they choose to play hockey.

 

[Rebels57]

I remember he had a thing with McDonagh two seasons ago and McDonagh got hurt, which made a lot of Rangers fans rather cross at Simmonds. But he was challenged by McIlrath the next game and immediately dropped the gloves. He didn't have to accept that fight at all and I wouldn't have blamed him for walking away, but he stepped up on his own volition and answered and that showed a lot of respect for the opponent. I gained a lot of respect for Simmonds that day.

McDonagh actually started that altercation too by cross-checking Simmonds right in the face. Either way, it was settled like men.

 

[Machinehead]

McDonagh actually started that altercation too by cross-checking Simmonds right in the face. Either way, it was settled like men.

That's why I wouldn't have blamed him if he told McIlrath to f*** off but he's a better man than that.

 

[Macbanan]

I'm undecided about whether players who had completely unspectacular careers from a hockey standpoint should be inducted in the HHOF.

Is there a way to draw the line in a proper way if you start going that way? Can it be done in a consistant way but also doesn't lead the way to the HHOF getting devalued by more calls for induction by smaller feats.

I might add the O'ree is a truly special case in that he came from the most disenfranchised group (black people) in a time where racial segregation was still prevalent (1957).
That's objectivelly more groundbreaking than being say the first hispanic or asian player, since their ancestors were not slaves 100 years prior, and didn't suffer the same level of racism.

I think you could induct O'ree and not worry too much that this needs to lead to inductions of the first gay player, first hispanic player, Bettman and so on.

 

[tny760]

simmer's always gonna be one of my favorite players, broke my heart when he left los angeles but that's the business side of hockey i guess. dude plays the hardest style of hockey there is, answers for it all and does it for less pay than most.. i don't like to get involved much in political issues but he's 100% correct about o'ree and i think it's a damn shame he's not in but the league is more than happy to parade him around in their inclusion efforts

 

[Rebels57]

I'm undecided about whether players who had completely unspectacular careers from a hockey standpoint should be inducted in the HHOF.

Is there a way to draw the line in a proper way if you start going that way? Can it be done in a consistant way but also doesn't lead the way to the HHOF getting devalued by more calls for induction by smaller feats.

I might add the O'ree is a truly special case in that he came from the most disenfranchised group (black people) in a time where racial segregation was still prevalent (1957).
That's objectivelly more groundbreaking than being say the first hispanic or asian player, since their ancestors were not slaves 100 years prior, and didn't suffer the same level of racism.

I think you could induct O'ree and not worry too much that this needs to lead to inductions of the first gay player, first hispanic player, Bettman and so on.

Exactly this.

 

[Bruckuss]

Great read, as a fellow Canadian, Flyers and Simmer fan - happy he is in the O&B and hope he will remain.. Class guy for sure, and an excellent mentor for our young guns. Loved the backstory on making it happen and some of the TO references. He will be counted on these playoffs for sure, really hoping he can bring another gear!

 

[Garl]

Well, O'Ree in the HOF is kinda of an affirmative action hockey edition. A case can be made that it's actually a subtle racism.
Simmonds is not exactly writing from a perspective of an opressed individual. He was born in 1988 in a country without racial stigma of the US and in one of the most altruistic societies in the World. But he still is pushing the same narrative of opressed-opressor dynamic.

Before you will bombard me with "he heard an n-word" "there was a banana!" "some dude looked at him wrong!" think about that: almost nowhere on Earth you have the same racial dynamics as in the US. Look at Colombia, Brazil, Russia. They had their fare share of ethnic conflicts, genocides, rapes, pillages, discrimination and even slavery. But nowhere you will find the same kind of relationships between racial groups as in the USA. The only examples of smth similar is South Africa and used to be Zimbabwe, until Mugabe hasn't kicked out all the white people(racists of course).

Relationships remind me of husband-wife relationships, where sometime long long ago husband cheated and got caught. Wife decided to forgive him, but every time there's an argument she uses that sin as a trump(no pun intended) card. This is unhealthy dynamics, there's inherent inequality here.

The result of this relationships is not reconciliation but further divide, one part is always apologizing, another has an eternal scapegoat.

There are black players that deserve HOF: Fuhr, Iginla, quite possible Subban, maybe Jones in the future. And there will definately be many more to come. There's no need for mandatory black guy in the HOF, they can make it on the merit of their skill and results.

Take it as a critique from outsider perspective.

 

[oXo Cube]

I knew before I clicked on this thread that I was going to read some ridiculously awful responses and I'm still flabbergasted.

 

[Panthera]

Well, O'Ree in the HOF is kinda of an affirmative action hockey edition. A case can be made that it's actually a subtle racism.
Simmonds is not exactly writing from a perspective of an opressed individual. He was born in 1988 in a country without racial stigma of the US and in one of the most altruistic societies in the World. But he still is pushing the same narrative of opressed-opressor dynamic.

Before you will bombard me with "he heard an n-word" "there was a banana!" "some dude looked at him wrong!" think about that: almost nowhere on Earth you have the same racial dynamics as in the US. Look at Colombia, Brazil, Russia. They had their fare share of ethnic conflicts, genocides, rapes, pillages, discrimination and even slavery. But nowhere you will find the same kind of relationships between racial groups as in the USA. The only examples of smth similar is South Africa and used to be Zimbabwe, until Mugabe hasn't kicked out all the white people(racists of course).

Relationships remind me of husband-wife relationships, where sometime long long ago husband cheated and got caught. Wife decided to forgive him, but every time there's an argument she uses that sin as a trump(no pun intended) card. This is unhealthy dynamics, there's inherent inequality here.

The result of this relationships is not reconciliation but further divide, one part is always apologizing, another has an eternal scapegoat.

There are black players that deserve HOF: Fuhr, Iginla, quite possible Subban, maybe Jones in the future. And there will definately be many more to come. There's no need for mandatory black guy in the HOF, they can make it on the merit of their skill and results.

Take it as a critique from outsider perspective.

This is absurd and willfully ignorant

If you think modern day America and Canada don't have issues with racism you're delusional. Is it better than it was in O'Ree's time? Yes. Is the problem gone entirely? No, not even close. How exactly can you claim that Simmonds is harping entirely on injustices that are in the past when his entire story is about his own personal experiences and the fact that for black players in hockey (and black people in society), the racist abuse he's been the target of is something they all are forced to deal with on a regular basis to this day?

 

[snag]

Racism is a problem in all racial communities. Some is more obvious than others. Some is almost excused. Some seems almost to be justified using past histories.

It all sucks. It all must go.

Unfortunately, I don't have that much faith in humanity.

 

[member 297479]

Racism is a problem in all racial communities. Some is more obvious than others. Some is almost excused. Some seems almost to be justified using past histories.

It all sucks. It all must go.

Unfortunately, I don't have that much faith in humanity.

It makes me so angry to hear what people have said to him and others. I agree, it must go.

 

[Pens x]

Wow, I didn’t realize that he’s only played in 45 career NHL games. It’s kind of an insult to the games greats to even discuss Willie being named to the Hall of Fame. He should not be honored as a player. If they can carve out an exception, like as a humanitarian, do it that way.