NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace has landed an endorsement deal with Beats by Dre, the company announced on Monday evening. Earlier that day, President Donald Trump posted a tweet criticizing the driver over the recent “noose” incident, which Trump called a “HOAX” and for which he suggested Wallace should “apologize.”
“We weren’t going to announce this until later this week, but hate cannot win the day,” Beats by Dre posted via Twitter, captioning a photo of Wallace in a Black Lives Matter-themed “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirt. “No one should ever be asked to apologize for standing up for what’s right — we are proud to welcome [Bubba Wallace] to the Beats by Dr. Dre family.”
We weren’t going to announce this until later this week, but hate cannot win the day. No one should ever be asked to apologize for standing up for what’s right — we are proud to welcome @bubbawallace to the Beats by Dr. Dre family. pic.twitter.com/HeiC76MDle
— Beats by Dre (@beatsbydre) July 6, 2020
“This is so dope!” Wallace responded via Twitter. “Honored to be a part of the family! If you know me, music is a strong passion of mine!”
This is so dope! Honored to be a part of the family! If you know me, music is a strong passion of mine!
🤘🏾 https://t.co/vw1ZYz1pCW— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) July 6, 2020
Wallace made headlines last month after his team reported an alleged “noose” in the driver’s garage stall, suspecting it was a racist hate crime against the black athlete.
However, the “noose” turned out to be a garage pull “fashioned like a noose” that had been used in the stall long before the garage was assigned to Wallace, according to the FBI.
The Beats by Dre endorsement announcement was apparently announced earlier than planned due to President Trump tweeting about the NASCAR driver.
“Has [Bubba Wallace] apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers [and] officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, [and] were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX?” Trump posted on Twitter on Monday. “That [and] Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!” he added in an apparent reference to NASCAR’s decision to ban Confederate flags.
Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX? That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 6, 2020
Wallace has since expressed relief that the “noose” was not what he feared it was and has thanked NASCAR for their overwhelming support.
Initially, the famed driver expressed frustration over response to the FBI findings, joining left-wing host Don Lemon on CNN airwaves to complain about the “straight up noose” and the public’s response.
“None of the allegations of being a hoax will break me or tear me down,” Wallace told Lemon, as noted by The Daily Wire. “Will it piss me off? Absolutely. But that only fuels the competitive drive in me to shut everybody up, to get back out on the race track next weekend in Pocono, and showcase what I can do behind the wheel. Tremendous amounts of BS, whatever it is that you want to say, you won’t break me, you won’t tear me down. Again, I will still stand proud of where I’m at.”
“I have been racing all my life. We have raced out of hundreds of garages. They never had garage pulls like that,” the driver continued. “People that call it a garage pull and put out videos and photos of knots being in as their evidence, go ahead. But from the evidence that we have, that I have. It’s a straight up noose.”
“The FBI has stated that it was a noose, over and over again,” said Wallace. “NASCAR leadership has stated it was a noose. I can confirm that. I actually got evidence of what was hanging in my garage over my car, to confirm that it was a noose.”
The next day, Wallace released a statement in a more conciliatory and “relieved” tone than his Lemon appearance.
“It’s been an emotional few days,” said the driver. “First off, I want to say how relieved I am that the investigation revealed that this wasn’t what we feared it was.”
“I want to thank my team, NASCAR and the FBI for acting swiftly and treating this as a real threat,” Wallace wrote. “I think we’ll gladly take a little embarrassment over what the alternatives could have been.”
“Make no mistake,” he added, “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 become a more welcoming environment for all.”
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) June 24, 2020