In the wake of the Confederate flag ban in NASCAR, it appears that not everyone is happy about it. Last night, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace was the target of a hate crime for playing a major role in the ban.
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According to NASCAR officials, they discovered a noose in the African-American driver’s garage. Up until the ban, the flag was a common sight at circuits, even though many view it as a symbol of slavery and racism.
Naturally, the American stock car series condemned the “heinous” act at the Talladega Superspeedway. In a statement, officials said, “Late this afternoon, Nascar was made aware that a noose was found in the garage stall of the 43 team. We are angry and outraged and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act. We have launched an immediate investigation and will do everything we can to identify the person(s) responsible and eliminate them from the sport.”
NASCAR and Bubba Wallace are furious after the incident
The organization firmly insisted that the series will not stand for racism. Furthermore, the sport said that the gesture only serves to strengthen its stance to make the sport more open and tolerant.
After the race, Bubba Wallace admitted that he was ‘incredibly saddened’ at this “despicable act of racism”. He said, “This will not break me. I will not give in, nor will I back down.”
The Confederate flag ban came about in the wake of global protests over George Floyd’s death in police custody. A heartbroken Wallace was the flag bearer of the movement in NASCAR. And called for the flag to be banned from racetracks, particularly in the sport’s southern US heartland.
In an interview with CNN, he said, “Get them out of here. They have no place for them. No one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a Nascar race. It starts with Confederate flags.”
However, some people were unhappy with the ban. And it is evidenced from the noose incident and another incident of a small plane flying a Confederate flag. Additionally, there was also a banner that read “Defund NASCAR”.
