NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace and Columbia Sportswear sign sponsorship deal after ‘noose’ controversy

Columbia Sportswear has decided to sponsor NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace after his “noose” controversy. The outerwear company announced its decision to choose Wallace as its brand ambassador on Wednesday, August 12.

Joe Boyle, Columbia Brand president, told the Associated Press: “With COVID there's not a lot of sports that have been on and with popular culture and everything Bubba has stood up for, we had really been watching him as he rose to national attention. Everything he stood for, in terms of his fortitude, courage, conviction around what he is standing up for, that's what really Columbia has stood up for all these years, as well."

Boyle also mentioned that it was not just the 26-year-old’s activism that set off the sponsorship. “It wasn’t the (activism) that stood out for us, it was that he grew up in the outdoors. His favorite activities to do outside the track is photography, hiking, biking, golf — it’s just a natural fit,” he added.

Wallace also expressed his views on the deal as he said: “We're trying to find ways to incorporate photography while being outdoors. But also it is about getting people outdoors that don't have the same access that we do to getting outdoors, so maybe inner-city kids that it's a little bit of a hike for them to get to a state park, just to be able to go hiking or fishing. We are trying to come up with creative and elaborate ways to give them access and give back to communities, which all ties in with what is going on in the world about us diving deep into communities and making a bigger footprint and impact." He has also been signed by Beats by Dre to an endorsement deal. 

This comes after the six-time winner in NASCAR's Truck Series found himself in the spotlight in June after claiming to discover a “noose” in his garage at Talladega Superspeedway. The claim led to an investigation by the FBI that later ruled that the “noose” was actually a pull rope. The investigators also stated that the rope had been in place for a very long time, since at least October 2019. According to reports, NASCAR also issued a statement after the FBI investigation that read, “The FBI report concludes, and photographic evidence confirms, that the garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose had been positioned there since as early as last fall.”

However, despite the investigation and its result, Wallace said: “It was a noose. It was a noose that — whether tied in 2019 or whatever, it was a noose. So, it wasn’t directed at me. But somebody tied a noose.”

In another interview with Fox News, he said, “I think, you know, based on delivering or getting the facts delivered to me, the information delivered to me, you know, after the garage was closed maybe being a little bit more proactive and seeing it for myself in person to have a true understanding instead of hearing, you know, from others words, get an image for myself. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have changed anything. NASCAR, I felt like I did the right thing, you know, in the shape of a noose. It, in fact, was a noose. Everybody has seen the image now, so to say we would go back and do things differently, I don’t think so. Maybe word things differently? Yes, but I would – I would launch an investigation. I would have NASCAR or follow NASCAR’s judgment on it again.”