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Post by Admin on Jun 24, 2020 20:37:41 GMT
 The FBI said Tuesday a noose found in the team garage of NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace at the Talladega Superspeedway has been there since last year and he, therefore, is not a victim of a hate crime. NASCAR, mentioning the FBI report, described the item as a "garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose." "The FBI learned that garage number 4, where the noose was found, was assigned to Bubba Wallace last week," the agency said in a statement Tuesday. "The investigation also revealed evidence, including authentic video confirmed by NASCAR, that the noose found in garage number 4 was in that garage as early as October 2019. Although the noose is now known to have been in garage number 4 in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week." NASCAR issued a statement regarding the FBI's decision saying, "We appreciate the FBI's quick and thorough investigation and are thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba."  "We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all who love racing," NASCAR said. |
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Post by Admin on Jun 25, 2020 6:37:38 GMT
 NASCAR went to Talladega Superspeedway on heightened alert after Bubba Wallace, its only Black driver, took on an active role in a push for racial equality. Wallace had successfully called for the ban of the Confederate flag and received threats. Fans paraded past the main entrance of the Alabama track displaying the flag, and a plane circled above the speedway pulling a Confederate flag banner that read "Defund NASCAR."  So NASCAR moved quickly when one of Wallace's crew members discovered a rope that resembled a noose in their garage stall. The sanctioning body called in federal authorities, who ruled Tuesday it had been hanging there since at least last October and was not a hate crime. U.S. Attorney Jay Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. said the investigation determined "nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned" to that same stall. NASCAR said it was the lone garage stall with a pull-down rope that resembled a noose. NASCAR has defended its reaction and insisted it would call the FBI again. A defiant Wallace said there is no confusion and the rope had been fashioned into a noose. "I wanted to make sure this wasn't just a knot," Wallace said on CNN. "It was a noose. Whether it was tied in 2019 … it is a noose." 'I stand behind NASCAR' Even after the conclusion it was not a hate crime, Wallace remained angry at what he perceives as constant tests of his character. He holds no ill-will toward NASCAR. "I stand behind Steve and I stand behind NASCAR," he said. "NASCAR was worried about Talladega. We had that one circled on the radar with everything going on." NASCAR opened the Talladega gates to 5,000 fans, its highest number so far during the coronavirus pandemic. |
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Post by Admin on Jun 26, 2020 1:14:33 GMT
The former Red Sox pitcher apparently did just that Wednesday morning, as his account no longer exists. It's unclear exactly what the last straw was, but one of his reported final tweets foolishly compared the Bubba Wallace situation to that of Jussie Smollett. According to Newsweek, Schilling retweeted a tweet from ESPN's SportsCenter account about the FBI finding that NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace was not the victim of a federal crime and added the following commentary: "So we have @jussiesmollett v 2.0? Where is the media recanting their idiocy?" In a follow-up tweet, Schilling added: "It was all a lie." On Sunday, a rope that was fashioned like a noose was found in the Talladega Superspeedway garage of Wallace, the only full-time black driver in NASCAR. The FBI investigated the incident and found that the noose was actually a garage door pull rope that had been there since at least October and that "no federal crime was committed." Wallace never saw the rope himself, nor was he the one who reported it or went public with it. It was discovered by a crew member, who then reported it to NASCAR. NASCAR alerted the FBI and released the first statement confirming the incident.  Smollett is an actor who was indicted in Feb. 2019 for staging a fake hate crime in Chicago following an incident in which he said he was attacked by two men who used racist and homophobic slurs, said "This is MAGA country," and put a noose around his neck. The implication in comparing the Wallace incident to Smollett is that this, too, was a staged hoax. Obviously it wasn't, as the FBI's investigation makes clear. The rope, which the FBI itself called a "noose," was there long before Wallace and his team were, so it's clear they didn't plant it there. A misunderstanding, which is what this incident seems to be, is much different than a staged hoax. |
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Post by Admin on Jun 26, 2020 7:31:10 GMT
 NASCAR on Thursday released a photo of the noose found in Bubba Wallace's garage Sunday and said it was "real." The photo's release comes two days after the FBI concluded that Wallace, the only African American driver in NASCAR's top series, was not a victim of a hate crime as the "garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose" had been positioned there since as early as last fall. "This was obviously well before the 43 team's arrival and garage assignment," NASCAR said in its own statement Tuesday, referring to the number of Wallace's car. "We appreciate the FBI's quick and thorough investigation and are thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba. We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all who love racing." |
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Post by Admin on Jun 27, 2020 7:37:59 GMT
The owner of a North Carolina racetrack advertised so-called Bubba Rope for sale this week, alluding to a noose that was found earlier this month in the garage used by NASCAR driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. at a track in Alabama.
According to a report by ESPN, 311 Speedway owner Mike Fulp posted on Facebook Marketplace on Wednesday that he was selling "Bubba Rope" for just under $10 each.
"Buy your Bubba Rope today for only $9.99 each, they come with a lifetime warranty and work great," the post reportedly read.
Fulp's post was taken down by Thursday afternoon after it was the subject of backlash from fans. Some said, according to ESPN, that they would no longer attend events at the track over the product.
The news follows controversy after Wallace, the only Black NASCAR driver, found rope pulled into a noose in the garage that had been assigned to him at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
The incident sparked investigations by both the FBI and NASCAR into a possible hate crime, but it was determined the noose had been in the garage since at least October and was being used as a garage door pull.
NASCAR has since released a photo stressing that the noose "was real," and Wallace has responded that while he is glad it was not an intentional hate crime, he was still disturbed by the associations of a noose.
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