The Rev. Al Sharpton suggested that the public should be pleased to learn no hate crime was committed against NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace following reports of a noose being left in his garage stall, but questions regarding the incident remain unanswered.
“The FBI identified it as a noose. NASCAR [initially] said it was a noose or went along with the FBI’s characterization. It was a noose. So, the question is, even if they did not know that Bubba Wallace was going to use that stall, why was a noose in the stall?” Sharpton said Wednesday on MSNBC. “So I don’t think this answers a lot of questions. And clearly, from what we just saw of Bubba Wallace, it does not seem he, who is the victim and possible target in this matter, seems to be satisfied with this. So I do not think that we’ve seen closure in this particular inquiry.”
On Tuesday, the FBI announced it found no federal crime was committed after a noose was found in Wallace’s car stall at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
“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,” the statement said, adding, “although the noose is now known to have been in garage number 4 in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week.”
In a separate statement, NASCAR said the rope that both Wallace and the FBI characterized as a “noose” was, in fact, “the garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose.”
“This was obviously well before the 43 team’s arrival and garage assignment,” NASCAR said. “We appreciate the FBI’s quick and thorough investigation and are thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba. We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all who love racing.”
Later on Tuesday, Wallace, who said he never saw the rope himself, insisted NASCAR’s description of the rope was inaccurate.
“I’ve been racing all of my life. We’ve raced out of hundreds of garages that never had garage pulls like that,” Wallace said on CNN. “So, people that want to call it a garage pull and put out all the videos and photos of knots as their evidence, go ahead. But from the evidence that we have, that I have, it’s a straight-up noose.”
Wallace, the first black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series since 1971, pushed for the Confederate flag to be banned from the sport’s events. After facing mounting pressure, NASCAR said on June 10 it would ban the display of the Confederate flag at all of its events and properties.
On Monday, every driver and pit crew member walked with Wallace to the starting line before a race in a show of solidarity.
He was overcome with emotion following the display.
“The prerace deal was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to witness in my life,” Wallace said. “From all the supporters, from drivers to crew members, everybody here, the badass fan base, thank you guys for coming out. This is truly incredible, and I’m glad to be a part of this sport.”
