As a brief follow up to my previous post, below is a quoted text originally spoken by Chris Simon earlier this evening.  Read the rest of the story for my take on this apology note.

After watching the tape the morning after Thursday’s game, I was disgusted. There is absolutely no place in hockey for what I did.

I want to apologize to Ryan Hollweg. I was grateful to learn that Ryan is okay and that he returned to the game. My hope is to reach out to him in the near future.

I want to apologize to my team and Islanders fans everywhere. My actions Thursday night played a major part in our team losing a crucial game. I also want to apologize to the National Hockey League for the damage I have caused this great game of ours.

What you saw Thursday is not the person, player and competitor that I am. I know my teammates and opponents over my 14 years in the NHL understand that.

I do not remember much about Thursday’s incident. When I saw the tape on Friday morning, it explained a lot to me when I saw the look on my face after being hit into the boards. I was completely out of it. When I met with the media about 30 minutes later, I still was not feeling well.

I met with our medical staff briefly Thursday night and underwent a series of tests on Friday afternoon. They have told me that I suffered a concussion when I hit the boards. Because I was not cleared by our doctors to travel, I would like to thank Colin Campbell for traveling to New York for today’s hearing.

I need to make clear that this is not justification for the danger I put Ryan Hollweg in and the damage I have caused the game. I understand disciplinary action will be taken.

Since Ryan is thankfully okay, what hurts the most is knowing my actions will result in me losing the privilege of being in the Islanders lineup.

Finally, I want to thank my Islanders teammates for their support throughout this process. It means everything to me.
CHRIS SIMON
March 10, 2007

[source: New York Islanders]

It’s nice to know that Simon does feel remorse but this does not justify the action. As an Islander fan, I am not forgiving, despite his sincere apology. I feel somewhat ashamed to be a fan of the team, and what hurts the most, is losing, essentially the most important game of this stretch.

The NHL has yet to determine the severity of Simon’s punishment regardless of what was said earlier today. MSG had announced that he would be receiving a 22 game suspension but this information was falsifyed when the NHL announced that they had not come to a conclusion just yet.