Some professional sports in the United States took a brief pause this week in protest over the Jacob Blake shooting.
NASCAR, however, is continuing with its slate of races for the weekend.
That said, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., the Cup Series’ only Black driver, doesn’t support racing this weekend. But that doesn’t mean Wallace doesn’t think there still are changes to be made across the U.S., either.
“We still have a lot of work to do as a nation to make things better for us, our next generation coming up through,” Wallace said, via NBC. “What I simply said by … (NASCAR) not following suit does not mean we’re standing down. We still know what’s on our table, what’s on our plate to go out and accomplish or attempt to accomplish to make this a better place. So, with tonight’s race being held, we still know that we have a lot on our minds, thinking about everybody — the African American community specifically — to help out.”
Wallace, as you likely remember, helped convince NASCAR to ban Confederate flags from their properties and events earlier this year. And so far, he’s pleased to see other professional sports leagues taking a stand against racial injustice.
“Like I said as well, I respect my brothers and sisters that want to use their platform in that certain of way. I’m all for it. I think we all have to come together as one to figure out some solution because it’s still, nothing’s helping. Not playing games, playing games. Racing, not racing. Being silent. You know, we’re still seeing the tragic events happen. Jacob Blake was unfortunately — fortunately, he survived through that madness there, but it’s something that we still shouldn’t have to go through and witness, and he should have never been a part of.”
Wallace made a similar statement about racing amid protests over racial injustice earlier this week.
