The big story that's had everybody talking--
from social media to the morning news--
has been Bubba Wallace,
NASCAR, and the noose.
Now, if you missed the story, here's how it all went down:
Bubba Wallace-- the only black NASCAR driver--
had been promoting the Black Lives Matter movement
and pushing NASCAR
to ban the Confederate flag from its races.
NASCAR agreed, and Bubba Wallace immediately faced
a huge firestorm from people who felt like he was blocking
their "Southern heritage" and racism.
Then, a week after the flag was banned from the races,
one of Wallace's crew members found a noose
hanging in the garage where Wallace's car was parked.
And so, immediately, everybody was on edge,
especially black people.
I mean, it's a noose. You know?
A noose is-is like the N-word of ropes.
In fact, I don't even like saying the word "moose"
because it's too close to "noose."
I just call it a Canadian cow.
So, anyway, after the noose was found,
NASCAR called in the FBI to investigate if this was,
indeed, a hate crime. And last night,
the FBI announced their findings.
The FBI has determined that NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace
was not the target of a hate crime.
Investigators say the noose
found in his garage had been there since last October,
months before Wallace was assigned that stall.
According to NASCAR, the rope was used
to pull the garage door closed.
Wallace, the sports' only black top-circuit driver
says he doesn't care how long it's been there.
It's still a noose.
What an emotional
roller-coaster.
It turns out there was a noose in the garage,
but it wasn't left there as a message to Bubba Wallace.
It was used to close a garage door.
And I'm gonna be honest with you.
I'm just relieved.
I'm relieved.
Because, for a story involving a noose,
this is the best possible outcome.
It wasn't a hate crime against Bubba Wallace
and it wasn't a hoax,
like Jussie Smollett.
Because the country
didn't need any of that right now, right?
I mean, we've already got police brutality videos
going viral every day, protests in the streets,
and on top of all of that, there's a pandemic
that you think has gone away, and then it comes back
with a vengeance like a virus John Wick.
Now, I know there's someone out there
who's probably just as relieved as I am,
and that's my good friend Roy Wood Jr.
What up, Roy?
Yeah, what's up, man? What's going on?
For once, the FBI delivered some good news.
Good news?
You must have lost your goddamn mind.
Ain't no good news involving a noose.
No, come on, I-I don't mean, like,
"good" like Santa Claus is in town.
I mean, like, relatively good news.
You know, like, from where the story started,
this ending is good news.
Nah, man. A noose is never good news.
That's like finding a turd in your kitchen.
Like, you see a turd in the kitchen,
you don't care why it's there or how long the turd...
"Who put the turd here?" No. It's a turd in your kitchen,
and you ain't happy about it and you want that shit gone.
Yeah, but, okay, but Roy, apparently,
there's an innocent explanation for this, right?
You they say that the rope was just
used to close the garage door.
Like, they just tied the end of it like a noose.
And that don't freak you out?
First off, who's using a noose to close a garage door?
That's like building a campfire,
but you shape your campfire into the form of a cross.
You can't think of a less racist way
to roast marshmallows?
And-and why that knot? Why-why a noose knot,
of all the knots that we got-- we got-you got-you got, uh,
you got a slip knot, you got a clove hitch,
you got a taut-line hitch, you got a alpine butterfly,
but they chose a noose. A noose, bruh.
Wow. Roy, you...
you know a lot about knots.
I was in the Boy Scouts, bruh.
Birmingham, Alabama. Troop 415. Sixth Avenue Baptist Church.
Dishonorably discharged for eating
all the fundraiser popcorn, but that's another story.
Okay, look, I... Like, I hear what you're saying.
I hear what you're saying. Like, it's pretty messed up
to use a noose as the pull for your garage.
And, and, and...
it's backward as hell.
You telling me they still closing garages by hand?
NASCAR makes billions of dollars.
You telling me they can't afford no damn clicker?
Bruh, you can purchase and install
a garage door opener for $300.
Hell, my Uncle Derek can knock that out for 150.
He over in Memphis, just hit him up.
And then, on top of that, that's-that's how you know...
that's how you know, Trevor, that NASCAR
doesn't have enough black people in their sport.
You just got a noose just-just dangling,
and nobody... nobody saw it?
"Hey, man, grab the murder rope
and shut this garage real quick." Nobody?
Nobody seen nothing.
Yeah, I'm... I'm not gonna lie, Roy,
you make some really good points.
So, okay, th... so then, how do s...
how do you respond to people who are saying that
black people are just being too sensitive?
Yeah.
You kind of need to be sensitive
when you've had a target on your back for the last 400 years.
That's why I have my head on a swivel all at times, man.
I can't afford to let my guard down.
Little kids come up on my porch for Halloween.
Yeah, they might be kids dressed as ghosts.
Or they could be really short members of the KKK.
Ain't giving no Snickers bar to the Klan.
Get your ass off my porch.
All right, Roy, so then...
wh... like, what do you say-- where do we go from here?
Well, uh, first off, Trevor,
everybody need to learn how to tie a different knot.
You can google that shit. Go figure that out.
Secondly, NASCAR needs to give all they garages
the ol' noose check once-over before every race.
We wouldn't want any more... misunderstandings.
Hey, man... you're speaking some truth there, Roy Wood Jr.
Thank you so much for checking in, my dude.
I hope you don't find any turds in your kitchen.
I don't even know what that meant.
You ain't never found a turd in your...
Whatever, man.
As you may know, June is Pride Month,
and right now we want to highlight charities
that are making a difference for LGBTQ people of color.
Like the National Black Justice Coalition,
which advocates for federal policies
that fight against racism and homophobia.
Now, if you want to help them and you can,
then please donate whatever you can.
And if you'd like to support specifically here in New York,
and you want to support the LGBTQ community,
then what you can do is donate to the Audre Lorde Project.
They help communities of color fight for their rights
and organize for change.
Until tomorrow, stay safe out there,