Bubba Wallace reacts to FBI conclusion: ‘It’s a straight-up noose’
The lone Black NASCAR driver tells Don Lemon he's pissed that people are questioning his integrity over the incident
NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace refutes the FBI’s conclusion that the noose found in his garage was only a “garage door pull.”
“I’ve been racing all of my life,” Wallace told CNN’s Don Lemon on Tuesday night. “We’ve raced out of hundreds of garages that never had garage pulls like that.”
Wallace said that he is “pissed,” that people are now questioning his integrity since the report came out. “I’m mad because people are trying to test my character and the person that I am,” he said.
Read More: Noose found in Bubba Wallace garage was there since last year, FBI says
Both NASCAR and the FBI refer to the rope as a noose or a noose knot. However, the investigation concluded that it had been hanging in that garage since last year.
“The investigation also revealed evidence, including authentic video confirmed by NASCAR, that the noose found in garage number 4 was in that garage as early as October 2019,” the FBI report read.
“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.”
READ MORE: Bubba Wallace’s mother says noose is not his first racist NASCAR incident
“It was a noose,” Wallace told Lemon. “Whether tied in 2019 or whatever, it was a noose. So, it wasn’t directed at me but somebody tied a noose. That’s what I’m saying.”
NASCAR released a statement after the report came out thanking the FBI for their diligence. The organization said they are “thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba.”
They stated that they “remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all who love racing.”
Wallace told Lemon that allegations of the incident being a hoax will not “break me or tear me down.”
He also told the show host that he did not find out about the noose until he was told by NASCAR President Steve Phelps. “The look that he had on his face alerted me in a way that I’ll never forget,” he said.
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