Wayne Simmonds is not a superstar. He’s your average NHL player by the stats. In three full NHL seasons, he has had 39 goals, 54 assists and 264 penalty minutes. OK, maybe that last stat is a bit unusual. A good third-liner, checking player. Fan favorite for his old team, the Los Angeles Kings, in his first year playing for the Philadelphia Flyers. But there’s one area where Simmonds is not “your average NHL player.”

He’s black.

There are currently 29 black or multi-racial players in the National Hockey League. There are over 600 players on NHL rosters. Minorities such as Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla and Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane are two of the more high-profile players in the whole league.

With the recent instances of minority prejudice instances on Elon’s campus, it is quite curious that similar things are occurring on NHL preseason ice.

In a preseason game on Sept. 22, Simmonds was taking a shootout attempt in London, Ontario, against the Detroit Red Wings when a banana was thrown on the ice. This is (unbeknownst to me at the time) a racist action against black players.

I was truly disgusted. Why on earth, in this day and age, would something like this happen? When I sat down to think about it, all I could think about was how truly, truly abhorrent it was.

“We have millions of great fans who show tremendous respect for our players and for the game. The obviously stupid and ignorant action by one individual is in no way representative of our fans or the people of London, Ontario,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

This is quite sad. But what happened a few days later is equally unsettling.

On Sept. 26, Simmonds called New York Rangers winger Sean Avery a homophobic slur on ice, according to Avery.

To put this in context, let’s remember that Avery is a very controversial figure that has spit a lot of trash talk in the past, both on and off the ice. So we can imagine that Avery could possibly be exaggerating a few things.

But seeing how both Avery and Simmonds are agitators, tough guys, it’s easy to think both were saying a lot.

“Honestly, we were going back and forth for a while there...I can’t recall every single word I said,” Simmonds said afterwards.

During his hearing with the league on Tuesday, Simmonds denied using the word. And with no on-ice official coming forward to confirm Avery’s claim, Simmonds has not been punished.

I’m not saying here that the latter incident is more heinous than the former.

“All players, coaches and officials in the National Hockey League deserve the respect of their peers and have the absolute right to function in a work environment that is free from racially or sexually-based innuendo or derision,” NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell said in a statement following Simmonds’ hearing.

Good policy. Simple enough.

But while Simmonds has been the victim, he has also been the agitator.

We don’t know Simmonds’ reasons for throwing out the homophobic slur. Frankly, we don’t know if he did. If so, maybe it was just the flow of trash talk in the game. Hockey fans know Avery likes to jaw. But if Simmonds is going to represent the NHL -- not just black players in the NHL, but the NHL in general -- he needs to refrain.

We remember Kobe Bryant’s hefty $100,000 fine for using defamatory language against homosexuals towards a referee. GLAAD was up-in-arms, and Bryant later appeared in a PSA against his behavior.

Should Simmonds take the same road?

Yes. Even if he did not use the word. Even if the NHL does not fine him. It comes down to being professional and representing yourself, your team, your league and your sport. And Simmonds has done a poor job of misrepresenting himself, the Flyers, the NHL and hockey.

Hockey is a sport that generally is not populated with black players or any minorities besides Europeans. Those black players who do play have a chance to make a statement. The banana throwing incident in Ontario was horribly distasteful. Horrendously heinous. All those adjectives. London native Chris Moorhouse was charged Wednesday for “engaging in a prohibited activity under the provincial trespassing act,” according to the Associated Press.

That does not give license for Simmonds’ use of the word.

Make a statement, Simmonds. Man up to your mistake. For once, I believe Sean Avery. Video exists that shows Simmonds saying the phrase or word to Avery.

NHL, get your facts in order.

GLAAD acting president Mike Thompson is right: “(Simmonds) should not only apologize for this anti-gay outburst, but the Philadelphia Flyers and the NHL have a responsibility to take action and educate their fans about why this word is unacceptable.”

Where’s the reaction, Philadelphia? NHL? Simmonds?