Bubba Wallace will face no punishment or repercussion from NASCAR for flipping the bird during a live interview following a race over the weekend.
The rationale for not suspending or disciplining Wallace apparently stems from NASCAR’s belief that Wallace was flipping the bird to a friend and did not have any vulgar or malicious intent, Fox News reported.
If accurate, that reasoning prompts many questions. The rules against vulgarity and profanity on-air have always centered around the action, not necessarily the intent. Could an athlete, or in this case, a driver, call his best friend a “funny f*ck*r” on-air and face no discipline for it? Conversely, couldn’t anyone give someone the bird and later claim that they were doing it toward a friend? And avoid punishment?
This does not seem like a sustainable rule.
The incident in which Wallace flipped the bird went occurred, somewhat ironically, after one of his better finishes.
Real professional there @BubbaWallace @23XIRacing flipping the bird at the start of his post race interview. No class man. #NASCAR @NASCAR @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/bg7fiIrHol
— Charlie Waffles (@CWaffles) May 22, 2023
Wallace has other controversies swirling around him as well. On Monday, it was announced that NASCAR had launched an investigation into an apparent hacking of Wallace’s team communication gear in which unknown persons told the driver to “go back where [he] came from” and “you’re not wanted in NASCAR.”
One Twitter user posted what he claimed was audio of the two taunts delivered over Wallace’s frequency.
This was on Bubba Wallace’s radio at the end of the race. It’s not the first time it’s happened. Could someone please ask NASCAR what it plans to do about its only black driver being harassed by racists?@jeff_gluck @bobpockrass @Jordan_Bianchi @A_S12 @NASCAR @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/wlB4VEiiom
— Jeff (@mr4time) May 22, 2023
NASCAR has not yet revealed the results of its investigation.