Brian France doesn’t want the Confederate flag at NASCAR races
If NASCAR chairman Brian France had his way, the Confederate flag would not have a presence at his sport’s races.
Earlier in the week, his sport issued a statement that it supported the calls by South Carolina officials to take the flag down from the grounds of the South Carolina Capitol.
“We want to go as far as we can to eliminate the presence of that flag,” France told The Associated Press on Saturday. ”I personally find it an offensive symbol, so there is no daylight how we feel about it and our sensitivity to others who feel the same way.
”We’re working with the industry to see how far we can go to get that flag to be disassociated entirely from our events.”
NASCAR’s statement, however, didn’t ban the flag at its races. The final sentence of the statement said “While NASCAR recognizes that freedom of expression is an inherent right of all citizens, we will continue to strive for an inclusive environment at our events.”
NASCAR does not sell officially-licensed merchandise with the flag on it. But the flag being flown by fans is still a very common sight at races, especially those in the south. While we agree with USA Today’s Jeff Gluck that the flag should be banned, it’s something easier said than done. And possibly why NASCAR included that final line in its statement.
The sport would be within its rights to prevent the flag from being flown at races. But the logistics of such a ban would be almost impossible to force.
Banning anyone on track property from flying a flag is an unachievable goal. Would it be worth track personnel and security spending their time patrolling the grounds and asking those flying the flag to take it down? Likely not. And let’s be honest, there would likely be some people who would refuse to acquiesce to requests and causing conflict.
Only banning the flag in the infield of tracks would be easier. And a good image move. Race telecasts routinely pick up images from the infields at races. Notsomuch from outside campgrounds.
But again, it’s not exactly easy. Extra personnel would likely be required to survey the infield and find those who would dare flaunt a ban. And an infield-only ban wouldn’t affect some tracks, either. Short tracks that don’t have infield camping for fans wouldn’t be affected.
NASCAR and drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. are saying all the right things about the Confederate flag. The flag should go away. Though in this case, the complete elimination of it at races is a decision that may not be entirely NASCAR’s.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
