(American Greatness) As NASCAR prepares to start its 2021 season, the organization has introduced several new “social justice”-themed initiatives to its presentation and messaging, as reported by Breitbart.
The changes came after heavy controversy last year regarding one black driver, William “Bubba” Wallace, faked a hate crime against himself. Wallace claimed that a noose was found tied in his garage, which he believed was targeting him as a black man.
An FBI investigation found that the “noose” was actually a normal rope used to operate the garage door, and Wallace was widely ridiculed on social media for the hoax.
Nevertheless, Wallace has continued to promote the radical “Black Lives Matter” messaging, including having the slogan painted on his car and wearing a shirt that reads “I can’t breathe,” a reference to the since-debunked theory that George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps has been accommodating the changes that Wallace and other far-left activists demanded of the sport, including banning the Confederate flag from any NASCAR race track. Phelps claimed, without evidence, that a poll of NASCAR fans found “overwhelming” support for such moves.
“It was a moment in time back in June that seemed, for us, it was the right time to act,” Phelps explained. “I think it was the right time for our country. I think it was the right time for our sport. The response to that was fantastic.”
In addition to the institutional changes made by Phelps, Wallace has signed numerous sponsorship deals with corporations such as DoorDash, McDonald’s, and Dr. Pepper, that will feature racially-themed commercials to promote the Black Lives Matter message and Black History Month.
Nevertheless, Wallace and NASCAR have faced ridicule for the changes from longtime fans. Since perpetrating the hoax against himself, Wallace has been repeatedly booed by fans in the stadium, and audiences have even cheered whenever he crashed.
