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posted by martyb on Thursday June 11 2020, @01:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the A-See-Change dept.

Many sources are reporting what we can read at ABC News,

NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its races and properties on Wednesday, formally distancing itself from what for many is a symbol of slavery and racism that had been a familiar sight at stock car events for more than 70 years.

The move comes amid social unrest around the globe following the death in police custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. Protests have roiled the nation for days and Confederate monuments are being taken down across the South — the tradtiional fan base for NASCAR.

[...] The issue was pushed to the fore this week as Bubba Wallace, NASCAR's lone black driver, called for the banishment of the Confederate flag and said there was "no place" for them in the sport. At long last, NASCAR obliged.

"The presence of the confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry," NASCAR said. "Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties."

[...] The move was announced before Wednesday night's race at Martinsville Speedway where Wallace, an Alabama native, was driving a Chevrolet with a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme. Wallace got a shoutout on Twitter from several athletes, including NBA star LeBron James, for using the paint scheme in the race.


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday June 11 2020, @03:09PM (1 child)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 11 2020, @03:09PM (#1006314) Journal

    I don't watch any sports ever. (Unless during basketball time the home team is getting closer to some kind of big national recognition with some games remaining. I can root for the home team, even if not understanding the rules of the game.)

    As for waving Nazi flags at NASCAR, I do not know if that is a common practice. I suspect it is not. Putting the shoe on one foot first, I can imagine the arguments for displaying Nazi flags to be similar to arguments for Confederate flags.

    Putting the shoe on the other foot, I can imaging taking things to insane extremes the other way. If you can't have Confederate flags, it might also be a good idea to ban pick up trucks too. And I can't say that I have a problem with that, but then, I don't have any utilitarian purpose for owning one. However, I am able to accept the idea that people might own a pick up without being racist. Possibly there could be no connection between the two things. This might also be true of Confederate flags, although a bit difficult for me to imagine.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @04:15PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @04:15PM (#1006368)

    Putting the shoe on the other foot, I can imaging taking things to insane extremes the other way. If you can't have Confederate flags, it might also be a good idea to ban pick up trucks too.

    I didn't realize that pickup trucks were symbols of slavery, Jim Crow and traitorous, armed insurrection. Which is the primary symbolism of the Confederate *battle* flag.

    Please do explain how that works.