✔️ 2022-05-01 01:41:10 – Paris/France.
DOVER, Del. - Denny Hamlin says someone sent him a rude anti-Asian meme that made fun of Kyle Larson's conduct and it went smoothly - from his cellphone to Twitter.
"I thought it was hilarious," Hamlin said. “Besides, it's insensitive. I understand. »
He didn't laugh for long. NASCAR and the dozens of fans and casual observers who criticized Hamlin for linking Larson's ancestry — he's half-Japanese — with an offensive stereotype tied to Asian drivers certainly didn't find the meme funny.
Hamlin is heading to NASCAR-mandated sensitivity training after posting the anti-Asian meme from the TV comedy "Family Guy" to criticize Larson's conduct last weekend during the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I respect their decision. I understand where they are,” Hamlin said Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway.
Hamlin deleted the tweet on Monday evening and apologized.
Larson came up the track several lanes in an aggressive move that caused Talladega to wreck.
“I saw the correlation in driving. That was it,” Hamlin said. “I didn't even think about the other [part]. That's the insensitive part, right? Whoever created it, I guess, put his name in front of a woman who speaks Asian. I guess you don't care about that. »
Hamlin is a three-time Daytona 500 winner who drives a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also owns 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan and enters two cars backed by the Japanese automaker – one driven by Bubba Wallace, NASCAR's only top-level black driver.
The meme has long been deleted on all streaming platforms, but the clip is still available on YouTube. Larson's name was superimposed on the driver in the meme.
Hamlin's tweet was online nearly seven hours before he deleted it.
“I really understand how some people might find this offensive,” Hamlin said. “If it's one, then it's one too many. »
Hamlin wanted to keep his conversation with Larson private.
"No hard feelings on my part," Larson said. “I think after posting it he realized how offensive it could be. »
Larson was suspended for most of the 2020 season for using a racial slur and lost his ride to Chip Ganassi, his sponsors, and had to take a sensitivity training course to be reinstated. Larson returned to sport driving for Hendrick Motorsports and won the 2021 Cup Championship.
Larson is friends with Hamlin and said, “Personally, I wasn't offended by it. »
"I think NASCAR did what they had to do and I appreciate that Denny took the steps to learn from it," he said. “Obviously it was just bad judgment on his part. I think being in the position that we find ourselves in, you have to be very careful about what you broadcast to the public. I know he will learn a lot here. the next two weeks. I think we're all ready to move on and focus on the race. »
Larson said Hamlin learned that "there are millions of other people a tweet like this might offend."
NASCAR's rulebook contains a section that states its members "shall not make or cause to be made any public statement and/or communication that criticizes, ridicules, or disparages another person based on their race, color, creed." , national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age or disability. »
" I understand everything. I didn't think it fell into that category,” Hamlin said. “Certainly, I understand their decision. »
Hamlin volunteered for proactive diversity training when he started 22XI Racing for a deeper understanding and sensitivity to complex racial and cultural issues.
"I went with the best in the country," he said.
SOURCE: Reviews News
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