After Wallace encouraged NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag, they did; Wallace has been under attack by a section of fans ever since
Bubba Wallace has been at the eye of the storm. NASCAR fans are split 50/50 on the recent ban of the Confederate flag. For those in disapproval, Wallace is the target.
About a month ago, racial tensions had reached a boiling point in the United States following the death of George Floyd who was killed by a police officer.
As NASCAR visited Atlanta Motor Speedway, a NASCAR official kneeled during the National Anthem. This came after NASCAR removed lines in the rulebook which previously prevented kneeling.
The President of the sport stopped the cars at Atlanta on the track and gave a speech that encouraged change within the sport.
NASCAR’s ban on the Confederate flag was encouraged by Bubba Wallace
Bubba Wallace felt inspired by the direction NASCAR was taking. However, he encourages the next direction in a CNN interview.
Related: Wallace comments on kneeling and the Confederate flag at NASCAR races
Wallace’s next step was for the sport to ban the Confederate flag. A flag that was previously seen at every NASCAR race, long before Bubba Wallace joined the sport.
When NASCAR heads South, there were borderline more Confederate flags than American flags. In the minds of most who choose to fly the flag, it has nothing to do with race at all. It’s about Southern pride.
Related: Confederate flag banned from NASCAR events
Upon the comments from Wallace, NASCAR elected to ban the Confederate flag. Fans have been upset with Wallace ever since.
Sons of the Confederate have now paid to have two planes fly with the Confederate flag in tow. The first one flew over Talladega Superspeedway while the second flew over Bristol Motor Speedway.
In the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Wallace was turned by Michael McDowell. There’s was only around 20,000 people in the stands of the Tennessee race track. But, it sounded like 100,000 as they cheered following the damage on the No. 43 car.
Related: Wallace wrecked by Michael McDowell at Bristol Motor Speedway (VIDEO)
Bubba Wallace explains why he is against the Confederate flag at NASCAR races
“We always want to pay attention to the negative, but the narrative that’s been out there now that’s saying all NASCAR fans are racist and whatnot, that’s totally not true,” Bubba Wallace told ‘Desus & Mero’ via Showtime.
“I’ve gone down in the fans, in the infield, at Talladega, wherever it’s at — Daytona, Texas, Michigan — I never knew if people were flying the Confederate flag.”
Talladega Superspeedway and Darlington Raceway are two tracks that see the most use of the Confederate flag. These aren’t hateful people, they’re just Southern. Bubba understands that part.
Related: Plane pulls Confederate flag over Talladega Superspeedway ahead of NASCAR race (VIDEO)
“We would go down there, drink beer, have a good time, hang out. It wasn’t like they don’t want you there. I could see from an outsider looking in, how that would look.”
Related: Wallace notes Confederate flag protesters wont be pepper spayed or shot with rubber bullets
“It’s something that it offended a lot of people when I brought it up — let’s get rid of the Confederate flag — because to a lot of people that was ‘heritage.’ Well, the people that we’re trying to attract and change up the face of the sport, and allow it to be more diverse.”
Confederate flag and NASCAR sponsors
Sponsorship is at the core of the sport. It keeps the heart beating. But, in recent years it’s become harder to find sponsors. Mostly, that’s because the price of sponsorship has gone way up, along with the price of fielding a car on the grid.
“Why isn’t there more sponsors? Maybe because of the Confederate flag.”
Richard Petty Motorsports has stated they’ve seen more sponsor interest since all the controversy began. This week, they announced Cash App as a new primary sponsor for the 2020 season.
Related: Cash App joins NASCAR to sponsor Wallace
But, he’s not against your right to fly it, outside of NASCAR tracks.
Wallace continued, “Let’s just get rid of it at NASCAR races. I’m not saying you have to get rid of it in your daily life. You know what I’m saying?”
He added, “You can wear that proudly at home, but just, when you come to a NASCAR race, let’s show that we’re all welcoming,”
“You may not carry any hate in your heart, and that’s totally fine — I know not every person is bad, not every NASCAR fan is bad — but we have to show that we want people to be a part of our sport.”
Related: Wallace is ‘pissed off’ that NASCAR fans draw hoax assumptions regarding noose
Links
Bristol Motor Speedway | NASCAR
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