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Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. – the only black driver at NASCAR’s top level – made a simple and accurate statement Monday night when he said it’s time for NASCAR to ban all Confederate flags at races.
That doesn’t seem like a hard thing to do, especially in the year 2020, but yet as of this writing NASCAR hasn’t made any announcement on the matter and I don’t know if the they are even considering it.
That’s not a great look for NASCAR. Neither is seeing the Confederate flag at races, a flag that has long been seen as a symbol of slavery and racism. Lots of fans still fly it proudly in the infield and it’s not hard to miss, which is ridiculous.
You know what’s also ridiculous? Three fellow drivers – Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Martin Truex Jr. – were asked Tuesday if they thought NASCAR should listen to Wallace and ban the Confederate flag from races. You’d think it would be easy for them to quickly answer “Yes,” but none of those three drivers used that word.
Truex said: “I think NASCAR’s going to do the right thing there, and I stand with what they come up with there.”
That’s fine, but again, just come out and say, “Yes, ban the flag.” See, that’s not hard to do.
Hamlin said: “I’m supportive of whatever they want to change.”
Again, that’s fine but just come out and say, “Yes, ban the flag.” It’s still not hard to do.
Logano said: “I’m not someone that’s waved a confederate flag in the past in any way. I’m someone that waves the American flag…”
Again, that’s fine but just come out and say, “Yes, ban the flag.” It’s still not hard to do at all.
I get that money always rules everything and athletes are most often going to be cautious about the stances they take but this one is an easy one, a slam dunk, and one that needs to be fully supported with strong words, not just “gee, yeah, I’m all for whatever they want to do!”
Will some NASCAR fans be mad if their Confederate flags are banned from races? Yeah, probably. Do I care about those fans’ feelings? No absolutely not.
It’s time for NASCAR to rid itself of the Confederate flag and what it symbolizes. You can make all the inspiring videos you want about taking on racism but nothing beats taking action and the action to take here is to ban the flag. Like, immediately.
Quick hits: Dana White acts like a baby… NHL’s video misses the mark… Sharpton calls out the NFL… And more.
– UFC boss Dana White acted like a big baby when he was pressed with some good questions about fighter pay and unions by someone who knows what he’s talking about.
– Hemal Jhaveri explains why the NHL’s video praising Tyler Seguin completely misses the mark.
– Al Sharpton called out the NFL during his eulogy for George Floyd, saying: “Give Kaepernick a job back.”
– Michael Jordan and his fishing team hauled in a 442.3-pound marlin.
CrossFit founder Greg Glassman resigned Tuesday after a very ugly couple of days for him which included him saying, “We’re not mourning for George Floyd.”