Published 18:55 IST, June 25th 2020
Bubba Wallace garage photos confirm it was a noose; racer warns of photoshopped images
The Bubba Wallace garage photo evidence confirms it was a noose, says the 26-year-old NASCAR driver. Wallace says the image will be photoshopped by haters.
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The FBI investigation into the Bubba Wallace noose incident recently confirmed that the noose in his garage was not a racist attack. The Bubba Wallace garage photo obtained by the federal authorities show that the noose was nothing but a garage pull that has been at the No. 4 garage at Talladega Superspeedway since October 2019. While the incident might have not been proven as a hate crime, the NASCAR driver is convinced that it was a noose, as he is still trying to figure out the reason behind the loop being tied as a noose in the first place.
Bubba Wallace interview
On Wednesday, the NASCAR star appeared on the Today Show where he discussed the ongoing 'Bubba Wallace garage rope photo' story and said that the photo evidence confirms it was a noose. Wallace questioned the investigation as to why was a garage loop tied into a noose, which even the FBI considered sceptical, according to the racer. Wallace said he spoke to the FBI agents twice about the incident. "It was a rope-pull from a garage door, it was attached. The image you see in where it was cut, that’s exactly what it was. It was definitely in the shape of a noose, but it wasn’t a functioning noose,” he said.
“It was not a functioning noose, but it was a noose.” -@BubbaWallace describes the garage door pull rope found in his garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway. pic.twitter.com/H4lPlzl9J4
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 24, 2020
Also Read | Bubba Wallace's Family Relives Cousin's Death 'when A Black Man Is Killed Unnecessarily'
On discovering it was a garage pull, Wallace told that he checked all other garages at the speedway. "I was very adamant on searching all of the garages and making sure that this wasn’t a garage pull and it ended up being one. The photo evidence that I’ve seen that I have in my possession of what was in our garage is exactly a garage pull, it is, that is a noose," he added.
Meanwhile, NASCAR, as well as Bubba Wallace, received a lot of flak on social media for blowing the situation out of proportion. While speaking to CNN, Wallace said until the FBI released their findings, he and NASCAR President Steve Phelps were convinced that it was a racist attack against the driver, who has made the headlines for his support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Addressing the social media backlash, Wallace said he accepts that there "will always be a backlash."
However, the 26-year-old also noted that some haters are photoshopping he Bubba Wallace garage rope photo in order to make him look like a bad person. "At the end of the day, I will always have haters," he told CNN.
Integrity..something nobody will ever be able to take away from me.
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) June 24, 2020
God will always test us to show how strong we truly are.
Still standing proud and still smiling.
Bubba Wallace garage rope photo
The Bubba Wallace garage rope photo was recently posted to social media by FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass. Pockrass shared the picture of the garage to Twitter where he said the image was taken in 2019 when the garage was allotted #21 Wood Brothers Racing team. Paul Menard was the racer who occupied the stall before being replaced by Matt Crafton during the race.
Went back and took a look at my camera roll on my phone and screenshot this from video ... rope on the left: pic.twitter.com/Od1Z4aKaxi
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 23, 2020
Also Read | Bubba Wallace interview: Highlights NASCAR's Unity After Noose Incident Proven To Not Be A Hate Crime
(Image Credits: NASCAR, Bob Pockrass Twitter Handles)
18:55 IST, June 25th 2020