NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says whoever threw a banana on the ice at a black player during a pre-season NHL game in London, Ont., was "stupid and ignorant."

During Thursday's game, as Philadelphia Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds was skating toward Detroit goalie Jordan Pearce in a shootout, a banana came flying out of the stands. Simmonds is black.

The speculation now is that the incident was racially motivated.

The troubling moment was reminiscent of a number of similar incidents in the soccer world in which black players have been harassed with monkey chants and had banana peels thrown at them.

Bettman expressed disgust with Thursday's incident.

"We have millions of great fans who show tremendous respect for our players and for the game," he said in a statement Friday morning.

"The obviously stupid and ignorant action by one individual is in no way representative of our fans or the people of London, Ontario."

Simmonds ignored the distraction and scored in the shootout. Detroit went on to win the game, 4-3. Simmonds said after the game the incident surprised him.

"It shocked me and I knew I had to keep going and get a shot off. It was certainly unusual," the Toronto native said.

"I don't know if it had anything to do with the fact I'm black," he added. "I certainly hope not. When you're black, you kind of expect (racist) things. You learn to deal with it."

He added in a statement Friday: "It was unfortunate that this incident happened but I am above this sort of stuff... This is something that is out of my control. Moving forward, this incident is something I will no longer comment on so I can just focus on playing hockey for the Philadelphia Flyers."

On Friday, London Mayor Joe Fontana issued a public apology to Simmonds.

"As Mayor, and on behalf of Londoners, I am sending an apology to Wayne Simmonds and the Philadelphia Flyers organization regarding the incident at last night's exhibition game," he said in the statement.

"It was a stupid and mindless act by a single individual, however it reflects badly on our entire community. London is a diverse and welcoming city and we like it that way."

The banana-thrower was not caught. Norton Sports, a California-based sports management group that does not manage Simmonds, offered a $500 reward for the thrower's identity.

Kevin Weekes, a former NHL goaltender and current hockey commentator, posted on Twitter that he was "extremely disappointed" by the incident.

There's NO place for this in sports since sport connects us not divides us. Much love to all the true & Classy #NHL Fans," he tweeted.

San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture, who grew up near London, reacted by posting on Twitter: "Wayne Simmonds is a good friend of mine. To hear what happened tonight to him in my hometown is awful. No need for this in sports, or life."

The rare NHL game at the John Labatt Centre drew 7,427. The arena is operated by Global Spectrum, a subsidiary of the Flyers' parent company Comcast-Spectacor.

With reports from The Canadian Press