As difficult as it may be, sometimes it helps to remove the emotional component of a subject or debate.
And they don’t get much more emotional than this one.
Remove all the good reasons to NASCAR has just announced a ban on Confederate flags at its events. Forget the reasons a small minority have always given for raising stars and bars in front of their campers in places like Darlington, Talladega and, yes, Daytona.
It’s not easy, but step away from the noise for a moment.
For NASCAR, there was no choice. And it was, in a way, a two-for-one opportunity.
NASCAR is finally starting to put an end to an old problem and perhaps beginning to erase part of a long-standing stereotype. A few fans will leave, as they have for various reasons over the past two decades, but others may come and kick the tires.
Additionally, NASCAR manages to survive as a very profitable business.
You could live off-grid in a bunker and still know that the earth is currently moving beneath our feet. It’s not just government organizations – local to the federal level – that are influencing changes, but the world’s largest companies are also in the game. Some happily and willingly, others after a nudge.
It seems the final boost for NASCAR, which wasn’t exactly subtle, came from Bubba Wallace, the sport’s only black driver at its highest level – the Cup Series.
He quickly and willingly brought current issues of racial justice and everything related to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police into the NASCAR spotlight. Bubba’s desire to see racetracks free of the Confederate flag was quickly answered by NASCAR. Within 48 hours.
NASCAR can list many valid reasons, appropriate reasons, human reasons for making this decision. Even though those are lacking, let’s start with four reasons that also matter: Anheuser-Busch, GEICO, Coca-Cola, Xfinity.
These four corporate giants were unveiled last winter as new “leading partners” replacing the practice of series naming rights (Winston Cup, Nextel Cup, etc.) which had existed for almost 50 years.
If your business model relies on partnerships with companies, you might sometimes wake up at night worrying that something will drive those partners away from you.
Now consider the real giants: NBC and Fox Network. It’s not a stretch to imagine a scenario in which NASCAR’s billionaire cronies would have to throw their weight behind it and demand some changes. Or else.
NASCAR will naturally insist that they are lowering the Confederate flag for all the right reasons, and it’s a waste of energy to suspect otherwise. The organization’s diversity efforts over the past decade or more have been widely publicized by their own marketing departments and have sometimes attracted recognition from participants and spectators.
But for many, it would always end up coming back to the flag. For many, the handful of Confederate flags have been largely drowned out by the waves of American flags you’ll see in any NASCAR infield. To others, however, they looked like flares.
Check the discussion forums. Both sides of this debate are in full swing. We have been building to this current crescendo for years. Some people are angry, others are happy, and many others are just relieved and hope this problem can go away.
And, hopefully, it will never be replaced by something else that stirs up so many negative emotions.
Contact Ken Willis at [email protected]
