Photo Credit: Kyle Larson/Instagram
This week, Nascar driver Kyle Larson was suspended without pay for using the N word during an iRacing event. He supposedly was talking through his mic as king if he could be heard, received no response and then said “Hey n-” with a hard ER at the end. Immediately McDonalds, Credit One Bank and Clover terminated their sponsorship with him. Credit One Bank sponsored 18 out of 30+ races of his.
Losing the type of sponsorship Larson did as reported by FoxSports left his team with no other choice. The problem is that their reporting frames the problem being about a loss of financial support and not morally about what happened. It also goes back to the history of race car driving. As of now there’s only been one Formula One driver to date and even he was met by audience members in black face when he started. It’s why this is of no surprise.
The punishment is debatable. The original solution was for him to take a cultural sensitivity class. One could argue he didn’t direct the word at anyone specifically and especially in a hateful manner but should we make the precedent of normalizing racial slurs and forcing minorities to be around these people? That’s rather abusive, especially since Larson did it publicly.
These things also seem to continue to happen with little repercussions whether it is H&M and their “coolest monkey in the jungle” worn by a black kid in an ad, Gucci with their blackface attire or Prada, or Burberry having a design that incorporated a noose around a model’s neck. We keep normalizing these things and telling minorities to stop being offended with blatant racism.
And finally, some say that if blacks don’t wan to be offended by the N word, they should stop saying it. As adults, we know what we should and shouldn’t say. You can use any word you want. It won’t take away from the consequences and anyone that tries to be a civilized human being wouldn’t say that. But for those who do make this argument, I encourage them to start using the word in public and let me know how that works out for them. Larson’s punishment might be harsh but it sends a clear message that the behavior isn’t accepted. He made an apology we’ve posted below for those interested. I’m not.
