Brad Keselowski’s American Flag Incident: NASCAR Driver Not ‘Surprised’ By Internet Rage
The internet outrage over Brad Keselowski’s American Flag drop after his NASCAR win at the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway doesn’t surprise him at all. Many have expressed their distaste at what was considered to be unpatriotic antics after his NASCAR finish.
This could be a sign that internet hate is just too easy to spark any more. People were upset over Beyonce’s Super Bowl halftime show simply because her backup dancers wore Black Panther imagery, and threatened to boycott her music. Many who weren’t paying attention didn’t even notice what was considered a huge racist moment on behalf of the “Single Ladies” singer.
Film directors like Michael Bay and Joss Whedon have also shown their annoyance with the public opinion. After Avengers: Age of Ultron was accused of giving Black Widow too much of a misogynist backstory, Whedon deleted his Twitter account, not wanting to deal with the outrage any more. After Transformers: Age of Extinction was critically slammed, Michael Bay had questioned the critics directly. The overwhelming negativity his name tends to summon may have been what led him to try dropping out as director of Transformers 5. It didn’t work, and it’s unknown what he will do to stay out of the director’s chair next time.
When NASCAR winner Brad Keselowski dropped the American flag during his victory lap, the internet exploded with similar hate. What had happened was that he was doing what he traditionally does, but the flag had slipped out of his hand. He immediately stopped the car, ran over, picked it up, and resumed waving it. Had Brad Keselowski not retrieved the American flag, it probably would have cost him the win, since it’s wrong to let the flag touch the ground. He’d done what he could to show respect after an accident.
One comment on the incident questioned what the NASCAR winner was thinking, says SB Nation.
“I get that Brad didn’t mean to intentionally drop the flag, but considering the high winds, why even bother to try and hold it out the window while celebrating? That had bad idea all over it. What did he think was going to happen? No wonder people thought he was being disrespectful.”
Another wondered about the connection between Keselowski and his win-related accidents.
“From cutting his hand (in 2014 at Kentucky Speedway) to now dropping the flag, what’s with Keselowski and mishaps while celebrating a win?”
Brad Keselowski says team has plan for him to help hang on to flag after next victory: https://t.co/Wvq1iZ1AZk #nascar
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 12, 2016
After Brad Keselowski dropped the American flag, he received so much backlash that he made a statement at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday.
“I don’t know if I am surprised by anything on social media anymore. It is hard to be surprised by the internet these days. I think my team guys told me they came up with some new system to help me hold it better in the car. I asked them what it was and they said I will find out if I win. So that is all I can tell you. It is inspiration I guess.
“I wasn’t thinking about much other than just picking it up. I wasn’t thinking that it made a lot of people mad. In my mind I didn’t want to see it on the ground either, so I got there as quick as I could and picked it up.”
Clearly Brad Keselowski dropping the American flag was something that bothered the driver. He had admitted his intentions in the end, according to Fox Sports.
It’s unknown if Brad Keselowski’s explanation of the American flag dropping incident will sate the internet rage, but he’s not surprised at their lack of forgiveness. It is the same internet which had a problem with a Labyrinth remake being planned so soon after David Bowie died after all.
[Feature image via Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
