In his first race since alleging there was a noose in a NASCAR garage, Bubba Wallace was booed resoundingly by the crowd in attendance.
Wallace was booed when he was introduced to the crowd.
But when Wallace crashed during the race, many in the crowd began cheering.
It's a stunning turn of events for an athlete who has made history as the only black racer in NASCAR.
However, there is no indication that the boos or cheers were racially-driven, as Wallace has not been booed in the past. Rather, many people appear to be upset of the accusation of a noose in a NASCAR garage.
It was later revealed that it was not a noose, but a pull to close the garage.
View video of the booing below:
You can view video of him crashing here:
Bubba Wallace made headlines when he made the allegations of a noose being placed in his NASCAR garage.
The FBI immediately got involved, sending 15 agents to investigate the situation.
However, it was discovered that this was simply a garage pull.
Many Americans were upset that the FBI got involved in investigating this non-incident, when rioters and "peaceful protesters" were burning down cities.
Pop Culture has more details on the booing of Bubba Wallace:
Bubba Wallace took some heat before he competed in the NASCAR All-Star Open, which was the race to qualify for the main event at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday. AP Sports reporter Jenna Fryer covered the event and wrote on Twitter that fans booed Wallace when he was introduced. And when he crashed 17 laps into the race, the crowd began cheering.
"Bubba Wallace was also booed when he was introduced, and many cheered when he crashed," Fryer wrote. "NASCAR still has a lot of work to do to back up its position. The group Justice 4 Diversity held signs along Speedway Blvd. after the race." After the ace, Wallace called out Michael McDowell for causing him to crash and lose out on a chance to win $1 million. "Just disrespect. When you get hooked the right rear into the wall - I don't even need to see a replay," Wallace said. "People say [he's] one of the nicest guys in the garage. Can't wait for the God-fearing text he's going to send me about preaching and praising respect. What a joke he is."
Odds are this won't be the last time Wallace will be booed this season. The reason fans are upset with Wallace likely has to do with the noose investigation. While at the Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR announced a noose was found in Wallace's garage stall, and it led to an investigation by the FBI. When the investigation ended, law enforcement determined the noose had been there since last year and that Wallace wasn't a victim of a hate crime. That led to fans attacking Wallace, claiming he made up the noose incident despite the fact he was not the person who made the claim.
Democrats on Twitter appear to be blaming the booing on "racism."
The reality, though, is that the booing and cheering are likely related to the noose scandal, which many now believe was a hoax to get attention and publicity.
See some of the reactions below:
Despite the fiasco, Bubba Wallace is defending NASCAR fans.
He is officially on the record saying that the majority fans are NOT racist.
According to Yahoo Sports:
Bubba Wallace wants to make it clear that he doesn’t believe that all NASCAR fans are racist and neither should you.
Wallace made an appearance on Thursday night’s episode of Desus & Mero and had a wide-ranging interview with the hosts about his career and his role in NASCAR’s efforts to ban the Confederate flag. NASCAR banned the flag on June 10, the same day Wallace drove a car supporting the Black Lives Matter movement at Martinsville.
"We always want to pay attention to the negative, but the narrative that's been out there now is saying all NASCAR fans are racist, and whatnot, and that's totally not true,” Wallace told the hosts. “I've gone down ... in the infield at Talladega, wherever it's at, Daytona, Texas, Michigan, and I never knew if people were flying the Confederate flag. We would go there and drink beer, have a good time and hang out. It wasn't like they don't want you there."
Wallace, the only Black driver racing full-time in NASCAR, had been in discussions with NASCAR executives about a flag ban in the days before the announcement. It came two days after Wallace said on CNN that he thought the flag should be prohibited at NASCAR tracks.
It's important to note that athletes of all backgrounds have been booed by fans of their opponents.
It's not uncommon for spectators to cheer the athletes they support and to boo the ones they do not.
Of course, the left will attempt to portray this as a racist incident.
But Bubba's behavior and wrong allegations speak for themselves.
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