NASCAR's only Black driver Bubba Wallace. Photo / Photosport
NASCAR's only Black driver Bubba Wallace. Photo / Photosport
US President Donald Trump spent his morning pouring fuel all over the fire of two of the hottest topics in US sports right now.
First Nascar, which is still reeling from a recent controversy where the sport's only black driver Bubba Wallace found a noose hanging in his garage stall ahead of a race.
Trump wrongly accused Wallace of perpetrating "a hoax" while blasting the series for banning the Confederate flag.
Trump suggested Wallace should apologise after the sport rallied around him after the noose was found in his assigned stall at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. Federal authorities ruled last month the noose had been hanging since October and was not a hate crime. Nascar and the FBI have exclusively referred to the rope – which was used to pull the garage door closed – as a noose.
It was the only garage pull out of 1,684 stalls at 29 inspected Nascar tracks to be fashioned as a noose.
Nascar President Steve Phelps has bristled at suggestions the noose was a hoax. Wallace was shown a photograph of the noose, never personally saw it, and was told by Nascar officials he was the victim of a hate crime.
"Has @BubbaWallace apologised to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX?" Trump tweeted. "That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!"
The tweet came after Trump used a pair of Independence Day speeches to dig deeper into America's divisions by accusing protesters who have pushed for racial justice of engaging in a "merciless campaign to wipe out our history."
Wallace responded on Twitter with a note to "the next generation and little ones following my foot steps" in which he urged people to use their platform and not be detracted by "hate being thrown at you."
"Love should come naturally as people are TAUGHT to hate," Wallace tweeted. "Even when it's HATE from the POTUS .. Love wins."
Bubba Wallace has already acknowledged the results of the investigation that White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany just called on him to acknowledge from the Briefing Room. He did it weeks ago. https://t.co/4qGLdXAqSO
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the president's decision to wade into the Wallace case, saying in an interview on Fox News that, "The president's merely pointing out that we've got to let facts come out before we jump to judgment." She also linked the incident to a rush to judgment, likening it to actor Jussie Smollett's claims he was a victim of a hate crime.
During a White House briefing later Monday, McEnany continued to criticise the press, calling Trump's tweet a "complete indictment of the media's rush to judgement."
McEnany declined to explain why the president thought Wallace should have to apologise given he didn't report the noose. McEnany refused to say whether or not the president supports Nascar's ban on the Confederate flag.
Nascar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Andrew Murstein, co-owner of the Richard Petty Motorsports team that fields Wallace's car, called Trump's tweet "a late, misinformed, and factually incorrect statement." He also said it was unwarranted and cited the photo Nascar released of the noose.
"A picture is worth a thousand words," Murstein said in a statement. "Bubba has reacted in a truthful, professional, level headed manner. The Nascar community and those in the know all stand by him."
Wallace, the only Black driver in the top series, led the push for Nascar to ban Confederate symbols at tracks. Two weeks later, the noose was found at the first race some fans were allowed to attend since the shutdown. On the same day, a plane pulling a banner of the Confederate flag that read "Defund NASCAR" was circling the track and protesters outside the speedway displayed their flags.
Two Nascar drivers came to Wallace's defense Tuesday on social media. Seven-time Nascar champion Jimmie Johnson, currently sidelined with the coronavirus, posted an image of Wallace's No. 43 that had been used by drivers in an earlier #IStandWithBubba campaign. Tyler Reddick, a rookie who drives for Richard Childress, tweeted but later deleted a reply to Trump that read: "We don't need an apology. We did what was right and we will do just fine without your support."
Wallace, who was born in Alabama, has taken an active role in the push for racial equality. He has worn a shirt saying "I Can't Breathe," and raced with a Black Lives Matter paint scheme in Virginia.
The series first tried to ban the Confederate flag five years ago, but did nothing to enforce the order.
Ramsey Poston, a former Nascar consultant and now head of crisis management firm Tuckahoe Stategies, said Trump's tweet is harmful to Nascar's push for inclusion and diversity. Wallace is one of just a handful of non-white drivers. Daniel Suarez is Mexican and Aric Almirola is of Cuban descent. Kyle Larson, who is half-Asian, was fired in April for using a racial slur and is not currently competing in Nascar.
"The brewing cultural war within Nascar for equality has just erupted and the sport's efforts to separate from its past just got tougher," Poston said. "The president's comments are essentially a rallying call for people who support the Confederate flag to challenge the sport's recent flag ban and create chaos."
While Trump claimed Nascar's ratings are down, they are actually up. Michael Mulvihill, executive vice president at Fox Sports, tweeted right after Trump that Fox viewership is up 8 per cent since the sport returned from the pandemic hiatus on May 17. NBC took over the broadcast rights this past weekend and said its ratings for the Xfinity Series race on Saturday had increased.
Then came the NFL, where a decision by the Washington Redskins to launch a "thorough review" of the team's name - a term for Native Americans that is seen as a slur - is dominating discussion.
Pressure from sponsors including Nike, PepsiCo and FedEx has seen the franchise finally buckle after years of resistance from owner Dan Snyder.
A Washington Redskins helmet. Photo / Photosport
Trump's take?
"They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redskins & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct. Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!"
Baseball's Cleveland Indians have also come under fire over the years over the team name and its logo depicting a caricature of a Native American who is called Chief Wahoo.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona said Sunday he was in favour of the team changing its nickname, according to BleacherReport.com.
