*The special new STEVE on Watch interview with NASCAR Driver Bubba Wallace is AVAILABLE NOW via Facebook Watch. Or, watch it above
In the interview, Steve and Bubba discuss the recent controversy surrounding the noose found in his garage, President Trump’s subsequent Twitter accusation, along with Bubba’s thoughtful response and his ongoing push for diversity & inclusion within NASCAR.
Highlights from the interview include:
- How Bubba was first informed about the noose found in his garage and what happened next:
○ “It was brought to my attention from NASCAR president Steve Phelps, he came into my motorhome…” – Bubba Wallace
○ “He told me…there was a potential hate crime committed and that there was a noose found in my garage and I was kind of taken aback.” – Bubba Wallace
○ “He had tears in his eyes, I had tears in my eyes, and he said ‘We are gonna get to the bottom of this and find this person that did it.’” – Bubba Wallace
○ On his later call from the FBI: “They said… ‘we cannot confirm it was a hate crime towards you, but in fact, yes, it was a noose.’” – Bubba Wallace
- Steve’s thoughts on the confederate flag within and outside of NASCAR:
○ “I have talked to a lot of African Americans about NASCAR…they want to be interested, they never really felt welcome on the track level and it’s because of some of the things that they have to see at the track – one of those things is the confederate flag.” – Steve Harvey
○ “African Americans see this flag and say ‘nah I’m not going down there.’” – Steve Harvey
○ “I found a piece of property that I wanted to buy for my family. Know why I didn’t buy it? Because on the way to the property I passed by 10 homes that were flying confederate flags.” – Steve Harvey
- How Bubba became involved in the movement to ban the confederate flag from NASCAR:
○ “I said we’ve got to get a hold on our sport and make it more inclusive, more diverse – then we don’t really see much change happen” – Bubba Wallace
○ “So I went on CNN with Don Lemon and I voiced it publicly and that kind of took off.” – Bubba Wallace
○ “I get a call from Steve Phelps, he said ‘just wanted to let you know…we’re about to announce that confederate flags are gone, done, banned.” – Bubba Wallace
○ “I wish we could’ve been back to a normal capacity from COVID-19 to see the amount of new influx of fans coming in” – Bubba Wallace
- Bubba and Steve’s reactions to President Trump’s accusatory tweet directed at Bubba:
○ “There were so many things I wanted to say, but I would’ve been stepping down to that level. Think about it – stepping DOWN to the president’s level.” – Bubba Wallace
○ “We have the same 22-word vocabulary – I ain’t even finished college and he has never said one word that went over my head, nothing.” – Steve Harvey
○ “This sport, sports in general, teaches you how to be stronger through the defeats. I’m not just talking about on the court or on the race track – I’m talking about off the court.” – Bubba Wallace
○ “BS tweets from the President of the United States is considered a defeat, but what you do is you show love and come out on top…that’s what you do.” – Bubba Wallace
○ “You delivered a note to the highest office in the land. You didn’t undercut him…you just delivered a note to him and it was so on point: love wins.” – Steve Harvey
○ “Love wins, all day.” – Bubba Wallace
○ “What I’m not going to do is accept this as normal. I am going to keep being stunned that if you have the highest office in the land, to the Black Lives Matter movement you have not said one compassionate thing to heal the voices of the oppressed.” – Steve Harvey
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