Given that NASCAR is mainly watched by conservative and white red staters, you might think that it wouldn’t go woke. Not so. Starting with the Bubba Wallace “noose” controversy, NASCAR has gone all in on attacking its fan base. It banned Confederate flags, tried to ban chants of “f*** Joe Biden” and “Let’s go, Brandon,” and has even started pushing gay pride messaging.
It kicked off that pro-gay push in a hyper-woke pride month tweet in June of 2022, saying “As we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, we acknowledge that recent actions have not aligned with NASCAR’s mission to be a welcoming sport for all. We remain steadfast in our commitment to create a more inclusive environment — in our workplaces, at the race track & in the stands.” The tweet also included the latest, wokest renditions of the gay pride flag, as you can see here:
As we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, we acknowledge that recent actions have not aligned with NASCAR’s mission to be a welcoming sport for all.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to create a more inclusive environment — in our workplaces, at the race track & in the stands. pic.twitter.com/r0h232xaXd
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 1, 2022
Speaking about the tweet, NASCAR president Steve Phelps didn’t back down. Instead, he defended it and NASCAR’s woke turn, saying:
“Generally, we as a sport haven’t been as welcoming and inclusive to the LGBTQ community, and we want to be. The efforts that we’ve made with Hispanics and with African Americans, this is another important group that we want to reach out to. We want our sport to be as welcoming and inclusive as it can be. That’s what race fans, our existing fans primarily, not all of them, but they want to share this sport with others. They do. Whether it’s someone’s sexual orientation or the color of their skin or whatever that might be, it’s immaterial. It’s a love for racing that they want to celebrate with each other. That’s really something we’re working really hard at.”
The video of his making those comments was tweeted out by FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass with the caption “The NASCAR press event in San Francisco promoted its diversity and inclusion policies. NASCAR President Steve Phelps on the recent Pride Month tweet from NASCAR saying “we acknowledge that recent actions have not aligned with NASCAR’s mission to be a welcoming sport for all.”’
The NASCAR press event in San Francisco promoted its diversity and inclusion policies. NASCAR President Steve Phelps on the recent Pride Month tweet from NASCAR saying “we acknowledge that recent actions have not aligned with NASCAR’s mission to be a welcoming sport for all.” pic.twitter.com/PwagqMKR55
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 9, 2022
NASCAR also had gay pride-themed cars, as ESPN reported, saying “This month, NASCAR will be showcasing Pride Month–themed cars, including Alex Bowman’s Ally Bank–sponsored car at this weekend’s race. The league’s focus on inclusivity comes after NASCAR partnered with the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce in January for the 2022 season. The racing league also became the organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion partner for this year.”
The summer before, Phelps and NASCAR had gone similarly woke on the pride and race issue, with Phelps saying “It was a moment in time back in June that seemed, for us, it was the right time to act. 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. hat we do in the areas of social justice and diversity equity inclusion is going to be authentic to who we are. May not be the right thing for the NBA, but it’s going to be the right thing for us.”
The woke push was largely the fault of Bubba Wallace, as MarketWatch indicated in its report on NASCAR, saying:
Wallace, the only full-time Black racer at the national level, has been the face of NASCAR’s movement. Born in Alabama but raised in North Carolina, Wallace no longer wanted to see the Confederate flag at his workplace.
Wallace found his voice on racial injustice after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the backlash was immediate. Less than two weeks after Wallace’s successful push to ban the Confederate flag, fans paraded past the entrance at Talladega Superspeedway with the flag flying from their vehicles.
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