Nascar driver Ray Ciccarelli quits after sport bans Confederate flags at races, allows protests during anthem
NASCAR driver Ray Ciccarelli announced on his social media page that he will quit racing at the end of the season after the league announced that it would allow protests during the national anthem following a ban on Confederate flags from its events.
Taking to his Facebook page, Ciccarelli wrote: “Well it's been a fun ride and dream come true but if this is the direction Nascar is headed we will not participate after 2020 season is over, I don’t believe in kneeling during anthem nor taken [people's] right to fly whatever flag they love. I could care less about the Confederate flag but there are people that do and it doesn’t make them a racist all you are doing is f**king one group to cater to another and I ain’t spend the money we are to participate in any political BS!! So everything is for SALE!!”
His statement came after NASCAR announced his decision to ban Confederate flags in its events going forward, in the wake of nationwide protests raging after the death of George Floyd - an African-American man who was killed on May 25, after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on the former's neck for nearly nine minutes. “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 in a statement on its Twitter page on Wednesday, June 10. “Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special."
The issue of allowing Confederate flags in racing was brought up by Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr., the only African American driver in NASCAR's top series. He called on the stock car racing association to take immediate measures to ban the flags in an interview with CNN's Don Lemon on Monday. “No one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a NASCAR race. It starts with Confederate flags,” Wallace said. “Get them out of here. They have no place for them.”
Wallace has previously used his social media platform to declare in 2017: "There is only one driver from an African-American background at the top level of our sport. I am the one. You're not gonna stop hearing about 'the black driver' for years. Embrace it, accept it and enjoy the journey." He also stood in solidarity with the protests happening all over the country against racial injustice by wearing a black T-shirt with the words "I Can’t Breathe/Black Lives Matter" to Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps delivered the following message at the event: "Our country is in pain and people are justifiably angry, demanding to be heard. The Black community and all people of color have suffered in our country, and it has taken far too long for us to hear their demands for change. Our sport must do better. Our country must do better. The time is now to listen, to understand and to stand against racism and racial injustice. We ask our drivers, our competitors and all our fans to join us in this mission, to take a moment of reflection, to acknowledge that we must do better as a sport, and join us as we now pause and take a moment to listen."