Wallace (l) was the target of a noose hung in his garage at TalladegaGETTY IMAGES
NASCAR President Steve Phelps admitted that officials do not have many answers at the moment as to how a noose ended up in Bubba Wallace’s garage at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, though he noted that "access restrictions that officials imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic were aiding the investigation," according to Teague & Blinder of the N.Y. TIMES. Personnel are "largely barred from the infield, with racing teams and a handful of essential workers as the only people permitted." NASCAR officials said that the garage was "fitted with surveillance cameras." Phelps "declined to say how many had been installed or whether they were working at the time of the episode on Sunday." However, Wallace’s mother, Desiree, in a text message yesterday said the cameras were "not where the noose was hung" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/23). In Charlotte, Scott Fowler notes the noose's placement has the "feel of an inside job." Phelps said, "We have a very small number of people that are in the footprint.” Fowler notes various conspiracy theories are "floating out there on social media." But Phelps "tried to snuff out one of them" yesterday, saying that the "speculation on social media that the placement of the noose was somehow staged as a publicity stunt 'personally offends me'" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/23).
HAVING AN ENEMY WITHIN: USA TODAY's Michelle Martinelli writes the investigation is "only the first action" NASCAR should take in "response to its latest racist incident." While it represents a start, if NASCAR is "genuinely committed to fighting racism, there's a lot more that needs to happen." To further act on their words, the governing body and industry overall "desperately need to shift their focus inward and examine how someone with such repulsive and hateful views joined its ranks" (USA TODAY, 6/23). In DC, Liz Clarke notes the noose "suggests that NASCAR's challenge in shedding a racially charged past will be more difficult than anticipated." NASCAR now knows it is "battling an enemy 'within' as well." Assuming the perpetrator is identified, the sport will be "banning one of its own" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/23).
NASCAR has been working to set the tone for removing hate and discrimination from the sportGETTY IMAGES
WORKING TO RIGHT A WRONG: In Houston, Jerome Solomon writes NASCAR is "finally getting around to putting a halt to the openly racist habits of so many of its fans." Solomon: "Doesn’t matter how long overdue this is, I’ll applaud the organization every step on the way" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/23). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote NASCAR deserves credit for "trying now" to eliminate that mindset. It is "trying to make this how NASCAR was, not is." Still, NASCAR itself can "ban whatever it wants or act as strictly as it wants, but nothing changes until attitudes and perspectives do" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/22). In Colorado Springs, Kate Shefte writes decades of "pandering to and acting as a last bastion/safe haven for the 'heritage, not hate' set won’t be undone in a week." NASCAR "needs a plan, and a good one." However, now is the time to "set the tone" in the middle of "worldwide focus, scrutiny and outrage that hit home publicly Sunday" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 6/23).
REMAINING A WORK IN PROGRESS: In L.A., LZ Granderson writes the "show of solidarity" for Wallace before yesterday's race from his fellow drivers and other teams in the garage was "beautiful to witness." However, while the sport's support for him is "undeniable," NASCAR's commitment to being antiracist "remains a work in progress." The noose "should not distract from the far more difficult fight in front of Wallace and his sport." Wallace’s fight is with the "Confederate flag and what it represents." For all of NASCAR's "admirable efforts, that flag may no longer flap inside speedway walls, but [it] is not out of sight, as evidenced this weekend by the convoy of flag-bearing vehicles just outside" Talladega (L.A. TIMES, 6/23). The POST’s Clarke notes with the noose, the Confederate flag-toting airplane that flew over Talladega Sunday with a banner "proclaiming 'DEFUND NASCAR' and pushback on social media, including conspiracists arguing that Wallace hung the noose himself to inflame the situation, NASCAR's push for equality appears to have triggered a deep-seated culture war that may well erupt anew around every turn going forward -- in grandstands, garages, infields and skies above" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/23). ESPN's Bomani Jones said he can "appreciate the effort" NASCAR is making now. However, he said, "They are here because for a long time they told these people, 'You have a safe haven here,' and now those folks want to keep it. NASCAR has to own that fact" (“Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 6/22).
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HATRED: In California, Christian Kallen reports sheriff’s deputies are "investigating the discovery of a hangman’s noose dangling from a tree at Sonoma Raceway, a possible hate crime." The noose was "noticed by staff" around 8:00am PT Saturday morning, "hanging from a tree outside the raceway’s former administrative building." The building’s entrance at present is being "used for health screenings as a precaution against coronavirus" (SONOMA INDEX-TRIBUNE, 6/23).
