Bubba Wallace on Tuesday reiterated that he has a lot of support from the NASCAR familyGETTY IMAGES
NASCAR President Steve Phelps last night indicated that his organization is "continuing its own investigation to figure out how and why" a rope found in Bubba Wallace's garage at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend was "made into a noose," according to Michelle Martinelli of USA TODAY. FBI investigators yesterday concluded that no federal hate crime was committed and that the noose, which was determined to be a garage pull-down rope, had been "in the garage stall since at least October 2019." Phelps said the FBI "definitively" determining someone did not commit a hate crime against Wallace was "the best result we could hope for" (USA TODAY, 6/23). In Birmingham, Mark Heim reports the FBI "sent 15 agents to the track to investigate" (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 6/24). Phelps reiterated multiple times that NASCAR "would not do anything differently in regards to launching an investigation." Phelps: "To be clear, we would do this again. Of the evidence that we had, it was clear that we needed to look into this" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/24).
QUESTIONS STILL NEED ANSWERING: ESPN.com's Ryan McGee reports NASCAR's rationale for continuing its investigation is to "identify the person who tied the rope into a noose and why they did it." While rope pulldowns are "installed on the roller doors in every bay" at Talladega's garage, NASCAR claims "every one of those pulldowns was checked as part of the FBI investigation." The only pulldown "fashioned into a noose was the rope in garage No. 4," which was assigned to Wallace. Meanwhile, some in NASCAR may feel embarrassed by the FBI's conclusion, but a "much higher percentage" lean toward not feeling that way. McGee: "They aren't happy about the optics of it all, and they certainly haven't enjoyed those conspiracy theorists believing they scored a win. But they also don't regret acting as swiftly and as publicly as they did" (ESPN.com, 6/24). CNN's Don Lemon said, “If NASCAR hadn’t done the right thing, if they didn’t act the way they did, then people would be criticizing them for moving slowly.” Lemon: "Did they get it wrong? Somewhat, but I think that people will forgive them for this mistake because of the times that we're in" ("CNN Tonight," CNN, 6/23). But in Charlotte, Scott Fowler writes the incident is "embarrassing for NASCAR," as it "had the world thinking for 43 hours that someone on the inside of the sport had placed a noose in Wallace’s stall to send a hate-filled message to the Cup Series’ only Black driver" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/24).
SENSE OF RELIEF: Wallace made the morning show rounds today, admitting on CBS that he felt “relief that I wasn't targeted or anything" with the rope ("CBS This Morning," 6/24). He added on NBC, "It's still frustrating to know that people are always going to test you and always just going to try to debunk you. That's what I'm trying to wrap my head around now from saying I'm a fake and all this stuff and that I reported it when it was information that was brought to me that was already reported" ("Today," NBC, 6/24). FS1's David Ragan said, "My first reaction is a sigh of relief. When I heard the news, it was heartbreaking. ... To see that the facts were revealed and that there was no hate crime that was committed, it made me feel good" ("NASCAR Race Hub," FS1, 6/23).
FEELING SPORT'S SUPPORT: Wallace last night said he feels like he has a "ton of support” within the sport. Wallace: “We’ve seen everybody come together on Monday. That was one of the coolest things that I have ever been able to be a part of, not saying that I wanted that. But drivers wanted to do that, they wanted to show support (for) me. Now it kind of looks bad, but it doesn’t, because within their hearts they know that it is something that they want to stand up for” (“CNN Tonight,” CNN, 6/23). Phelps said that he was "overwhelmed by Monday’s response by NASCAR competitors, who paraded down pit road behind Wallace’s No. 43 Chevy as the grid was being assembled." He said Monday was "one of the important days in my life." Phelps: "We are one big family, one large community. The belief was someone was attacking a member of our family. That was a very powerful image not only in our sport but all sports" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 6/24). ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch said, “I never thought that we would sit here in 2020 and be able to say that a sport like NASCAR stock car racing would be considered one of the leaders in major league sports when it comes to social justice. This is not a ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ NASCAR. This is today’s NASCAR” (“Nightline,” ABC, 6/23).
DEEPER SOCIETAL ISSUES: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Radnofsky & Beaton note the incident has the "potential to fuel criticisms that protesters of racial injustice are exaggerating problems, or even seeking to create them" (6/24). Fox News' Tucker Carlson called the incident “yet another noose hoax” ("Tucker Carlson Tonight," Fox News, 6/23). But YAHOO SPORTS' Nick Bromberg wrote the lack of charges "doesn’t mean that 15 FBI agents were called in to investigate a hoax." Bromberg: "This wasn’t a hoax. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney wouldn’t directly reference the noose three times in their statement if it was" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/23).
