The NHL suspended Capitals LW Chris Simon Sunday for
directing a racial slur at Oilers RW Mike Grier after the
final buzzer of Saturday night's game. Simon and Caps GM
George McPhee will be in New York today to attend a meeting
with NHL Senior VP Brian Burke. In DC, Rachel Alexander
writes that Simon "likely will receive an extended
suspension" since the case "may be used to make a statement"
(WASHINGTON POST, 11/11). In Edmonton, Jim Matheson reports
that Simon flew to Toronto to meet with Grier, and in a
"five-minute conversation in a hotel room, Simon apologized
and Grier accepted it" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 11/11).
REAX: Caps Owner Abe Pollin, on Simon's remarks: "The
(epithet) is unaccpetable, and it won't be tolerated by me.
... It's unacceptable, but I'm not prepared to crucify the
young man. We all make mistakes. I'm prepared to forgive
him" (Tony Kornheiser, WASHINGTON POST, 11/11). In
Philadelphia, Les Bowen: "As Burke prepares to set Simon's
punishment, Caps management can hardly afford to minimize
its player's mistake, since that would be seen as condoning
racism. But the harsher the punishment, the bigger the
incident becomes, and the harder it might be for Simon to
live it down" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 11/11). In Dallas,
columnist Cathy Harasta, on Simon's initial suspension: "To
its credit, the league responded swiftly and emphatically to
the unusual challenge" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 11/11).
