NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace is being buried beneath a tidal wave of pernicious backlash after the FBI determined that the noose found at his garage stall was a garage closer.
The FBI’s investigation concluded that the “noose” in question was not a terrorist attack, nor was it left by a fellow driver, but had been in place in 2019, long before Wallace was assigned that garage.
https://twitter.com/Econkid79/status/1275754697719242755
As a result, the only Black driver on the circuit is deflecting a groundswell of toxic hate, along with comparisons to disgraced “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.
“So we have Jussie Smollett v 2.0?” growled the three-time World Series winner Curt Schilling on Twitter. “Where is the media recanting their idiocy?”
Wallace takes great umbrage that so many Americans quickly pounced on him by calling him a race trafficker and opportunist for allegedly milking the noose story to engender sympathy and amplify his brand name.
“I’m mad because people are trying to test my character and the person that I am and my integrity,” Wallace told CNN’s Don Lemon.
“They’re not stealing that from me, but trying to test that. … In my statement Sunday night this will not break me. None of the allegations of being a hoax will break me or tear me down.”
Smollett, as most know, has been reduced to a punchline and caricature after Chicago police reportedly poked holes in his story that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in January 2019. His putrid scandal helped doom the hit show “Empire,” which was already trending downward.
NASCAR found a noose was found in Bubba Wallace's garage?
I call Bullsh*t!
Who the hell cares about Bubba Wallace? Look at his NASCAR record & he's equiv to an "extra" on Empire#JussieSmollett
— Kevin Jackson (@KevinJacksonTBS) June 22, 2020
Somehow we just KNEW that the #BubbaWallace noose story was a fraud. #JussieSmollett redux! And now we have been proven right. Yet NASCAR made a complete fool of itself, undoubtedly out of cowardice and fear. Toughen up, Nascar!
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) June 23, 2020
Okay so #BubbaWallace isn’t #JussieSmollett. He didn’t PLANT the noose. Still what kind of con man goes on national TV to insist that a garage cord is a noose? Bubba wasn’t even around when the “noose” was found
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) June 24, 2020
Wallace has an equal number of supporters and advocates who indicate the “coincidence” that a noose-like object was in the garage area of the sport’s only Black driver out of a hundred fellow drivers.
I swear I’m not going to spend this day explaining to people that a NASCAR official was the one who found the noose, reported it and then NASCAR released a public statement. It wasn’t the media or Bubba Wallace.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) June 24, 2020
Why in the world is everybody comparing the noose outcome to the #JussieSmollett case? Smollett made the whole thing up, on purpose. Nobody lied here. A noose was seen. It was investigated. It was found to have not been targeted at Wallace. That's good. Calm down.
— readparse (@readparse) June 23, 2020
Right, but @BubbaWallace never saw it. It was noticed by one of the team and NASCAR investigated and confirmed. I'll wait for you to walk this and your #jussie take https://t.co/3zWnRox2J4
— Paul Farahvar Dallas 9/20 (@paulfarahvar) June 22, 2020
https://twitter.com/PrivilegedVictm/status/1275166853103583234
https://twitter.com/GeraldB_LwC/status/1275773579037204480
