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NASCAR released the picture of the noose that was found in Bubba Wallace’s garage stall and it left no doubt that it was indeed one.
The release of the picture comes days after the FBI declared that the noose found in Wallace’s garage had been there since last year. They maintained that it was not a hate crime and that it wasn’t directed at the 26-year-old driver.
Photo of the garage pull rope tied like a noose from the Bubba Wallace garage Sunday: #nascar @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/IrsQ1PUbci
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 25, 2020
READ MORE: Noose found in Bubba Wallace garage was there since last year, FBI says
NASCAR has maintained that the noose is a “garage pull rope” and not a rope that has been historically used to kill Black people.
Wallace has been adamant that it is a noose.
“It was a noose,” Wallace told CNN’s Don Lemon on Tuesday. “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.”
Wallace also shared that he was glad that the FBI did not prove his worse fears of being targeted.
“Make no mistake, though some will try, this should not detract from the show of unity we had on Monday, and the progress we’ve made as a sport to be a more welcoming environment for all,” he stated.
READ MORE: Bubba Wallace reacts to FBI conclusion: ‘It’s a straight-up noose’
Earlier in the week, the FBI issued a statement after launching an investigation following the discovery of the noose in Wallace’s stall. Fifteen agents had been assigned to the case after Nascar’s president Steve Phelps stated that a crew member on Wallace’s team found the noose late Sunday afternoon. Wallace was told of what happened by Phelps. ESPN’s Marty Smith reported that Wallace never saw the noose.
“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. 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,” the agency said.
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