*An Iowa race track has fired an announcer following his racist rant against Black people who kneel during the playing of the national anthem.
The Kossuth County Speedway released a statement confirming that the comments were made by a “fill-in track announcer” and that the track “will no longer be employing the individual who made those comments.”
During the disturbing incident, the announcer proudly took to the loudspeaker to complain about “darker-toned” people kneeling during the national anthem. He also called out the NFL for choosing to play the Black national anthem. As reported by Black Enterprise, several people in the crowd are heard cheering him on.
Watch the moment via the YouTube clip below.
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Please see the attached photo for a statement regarding comments made by a fill-in announcer at the races on July 15th. pic.twitter.com/DjEDq3WiFH
— Kossuth County Speedway (@KCSpeedway) July 22, 2021
“for those folks, I guess the darker toned skin color, I’ll just say, Blacks,” the announcer said. “They want a different national anthem and the NFL is thinking about doing it. I just say shut the TVs off and let them play in front of nobody.”
On Thursday (July 15) the race track revealed that they “do not condone the comments made by the fill-in announcer.”
“Unless you are sitting in the stands (which track management is not), the public address system is not easily heard,” the statement said. “Kossuth County Speedway and the Kossuth County Fair Board do not condone the comments made by the fill-in announcer. We do not tolerate discrimination at our racing events and welcome race fans of all color, gender, religion, and creed to join our racing family.”
While the speedway declined to release the name of the racist, the Fairmont Raceway in Fairmont, Minnesota responded on its Facebook page that the individual is their longtime track announcer, Lon Oelke.
Promoter Jon McCorkell said Oelke will continue to announce their races, and that he agreed “with all of Lon’s comments and opinions.”
Listen to Oelke’s controversial comments below.
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