Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

Many of us remember Anson Carter from his playing days at MSU. Get a load of this:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Conten ... 0081593064

Will it ever end?

Must be a memeber to read. . .

any chance you can post the text of the article? TIA.

Dec. 14, 2004. 01:00 AM




Carter: `I'm proud to be black'
Hockey star shrugs off racist incident

`One idiot doesn't tarnish ... everyone'



PILSEN, Czech Republic—Canadian hockey player Anson Carter says he was disappointed that fans in Russia threw bananas on the ice during a Primus Worldstars game there on the weekend.

"I'm disappointed because I felt it might be a reflection of the culture there and, if it was, those people are ignorant and I feel sorry for them," Carter said yesterday.

"As for myself, life goes on. I see racism all over the world and I'm not one who thinks it's not going to happen in the world of sports."

During a Worldstars' game at St. Petersburg against a Russian all-star team, two bananas were thrown on to the ice while Carter, who is black, was skating.

"You can't really fault the whole population — one idiot doesn't tarnish the reputation of everyone — but at the same time, there was that one person out there," he said.

"It was a surprise, but look at the situation there. They may see my being black as a problem, but my life is pretty good. I'd live in North America and be black any day rather than live in Russia."

The Los Angeles Kings winger, a Scarborough native, said he has been the target of racism before, including banana-throwing, and said he doesn't let it bother him.

"The last time was at Michigan State when a kid from Michigan threw the N-word at me," he said. "It doesn't affect who I am.

"I know I'm black. I'm proud to be black just like people are proud to be white. If I lost sleep over it, I'd end up hanging myself."

When asked later if he would play any international tournaments this year, Carter grinned and said: "Well, I won't be playing in Russia, that's for sure."

canadian press