VIDEO: ESPN Repeats Lie That Someone Put a Noose in Bubba Wallace’s Stall

Bubba Wallace
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Dylan Gwinn

On Tuesday, ESPN released a video trailer for their upcoming E:60 special Fistful of Steel on the Bubba Wallace noose incident last year.

However, at no point during the video do they mention that the FBI determined that the “noose” was a garage pull and Wallace was not a victim of a hate crime at all.

In June of 2020, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace claimed that a rope fastened to the front of his garage stall was a noose. An uproar ensued, in which the NASCAR world rallied around Wallace in a show of support against what was thought to be a racial hate crime. However, a detachment of FBI investigators concluded, based on the fact that the rope had been in place at the stall long before Wallace’s #43 team had been assigned that stall, that the “noose” was in fact a garage pull and Wallace was not the victim of a hate crime.

However, those facts did not deter ESPN from creating a television special out of what was clearly not a hate crime.

WATCH:

The video picks up the story as dozens of NASCAR drivers, crew members, and owners flank Wallace’s vehicle as they walk beside him in support. Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson gives heartfelt testimony about how he wanted to stand by Wallace during the national anthem. The video also includes a tearful Wallace expressing how he became the most emotional when he realized the “whole garage” was walking out to support him.

Early in the video, NASCAR President Steve Phelps calls the show of support Wallace received “the most incredible noncompetitive moment in sports” that he had ever seen. Yet, as Phelps and NASCAR should have known since the garage areas at Talladega are all under video surveillance, the garage pull that Wallace claimed was a noose had been in place since October.

In fact, the FBI used footage from those same cameras to determine that the garage pull was in place long before Wallace was assigned to that stall.

However, at no point does the trailer mention that the entire thing was fake, and Wallace wasn’t a victim of a hate crime at all, a fact that ESPN themselves reported on June 23, 2020.

In that article in June of 2020, ESPN even directly quoted NASCAR’s statement announcing the FBI’s findings.

“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,” NASCAR said in its statement. “This was obviously well before the 43 team’s arrival and garage assignment.

“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.”

Twitter users were quick to blast ESPN and NASCAR:

Whatever ESPN considers itself in the business of doing these days, it certainly isn’t in the business of reporting factual news.

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