“It Was a Brilliant PR Move on Their Part”: Former Nascar Driver’s Comment on the Ban of Confederate Flag
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Former NASCAR driver Willy T. Ribbs has a message for NASCAR after the series decided to ban the ‘Confederate flag’ at its venues. Willy was the first Black driver to race in the Indianapolis 500.
In 1991, Ribbs became the first Black driver to race in the Indy 500. Additionally, he has participated in races across NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA, and the Trans-Am Series.
Ribbs was talking to Autoweek about the recent events. He said, “Now that NASCAR has taken a step. They better keep on stepping. This ride that we’re on now is not going to be over for a while.”. After that, he revealed that NASCAR wasn’t interested in him when he used to drive.
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Talking about the flag ban, he said, “It was a reactive move. It wasn’t proactive. But it was a brilliant PR move on their part. It was absolutely brilliant. They could teach the NFL something about that. Now, they’re going to have to show they mean it.”
.@WillyRibbs on @NASCAR: "It was a reactive move. It wasn’t proactive. But it was a brilliant PR move on their part. … I’m sure NASCAR gave [@BubbaWallace] the green light. There’s no question. … They just sent him out there as a frontman.”
– https://t.co/gDmX7z2TwM pic.twitter.com/XfClG8av5b
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) June 13, 2020
He feels that NASCAR gave Bubba the signal to lead the protest. He said, “Drivers don’t tell NASCAR what to do. Drivers and owners don’t make rules for NASCAR. They just sent him out there as a frontman.”
Kaepernick, John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s faced the wrath
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Willy said that only if everybody would have just listened to Kaepernick things would have been different. He said, “That was a peaceful protest. It didn’t cost anything. There was no damage. There was no looting, there was no burning. All they had to do was just listen.”
He added, “Colin went out there as a sacrificial lamb. What did they do? They sheared him and they made chops out of him. Now they want to anoint him. Before Colin Kaepernick, there was John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the 1968 Olympics. Bubba is not going to get destroyed because of the timing of what he did.”
“It seems like Lewis Hamilton kicked it off”: Former NASCAR driver
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After that, he talked about Lewis Hamilton’s stand in support of the ongoing protests. He said, “It seems like Lewis Hamilton kicked it off by taking a stand for humanity,” Ribbs said. “However, where was everyone in racing when Colin Kaepernick was kneeling? If George Floyd were still alive, would that Confederate flag still be flying?”
WATCH: Bubba Wallace Talks About the Positive Impact of NASCAR’s Flag Ban
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