1. Simon does need to apologize;
2. The phrase “silly hat rule” was a minor (but very minor) mistake. Whether or not
3. The hat indeed would have looked silly on Fred. Even setting aside the “play acting” silliness, there’d be the issue of size. Fred’s huge; his hat size must approach an 8. The fire captain looked average-sized, suggesting a hat size of 7 1/4 or less. Ever seen a guy try to put on a hat that was 3/4” too small for him? Pretty silly-looking.
(correction to point 2 above)
2. ... Whether or not he meant “silly rule” or “silly hats,” it’s ambiguous, and technically that’s Fred’s fault. Again, though, this is about a 0.2 on the gaffe Richter scale.