Mike Wallace Suspended Indefinitely By NASCAR For Offensive Social Media Posts

Mike Wallace was suspended by NASCAR for an indefinite period for what the organization said was a violation of the member conduct guidelines with a social media post, Gary Gastelu of Fox News wrote on Friday.

Wallace had returned to racing earlier this year after stepping away from the sport in 2015. Officials did not disclose which post broke the rules, or if he had been warned before the suspension was handed down. NASCAR said that anyone who violates the section of rules that Wallace is said to have broken could have been fired, rather than sidelined indefinitely.

The rules states that, “Public statement and/or communication that criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages another person based upon that person’s race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, or handicapping condition,” could be grounds for termination.

Gastelu said that Wallace’s Facebook feed is full of commentary on various topics, including slavery and gun violence.

One such post, which you can see here, claimed that almost everyone in the world had held slaves at one time. While it’s not specifically aimed at any one person or group, the caption for the picture he posted included the words, “you’re not special.”

NASCAR did not say which social media posting got Wallace suspended and it’s possible he’s already deleted it, the writer pointed out.

Prior to the announcement that he was suspended, Wallace posted a warning on his page to others who might make “uneducated posts,” which you can see here.

“You know as I fly across the United States today I’m [reading] various people’s political views and I have to say a famous four-star Military General that I spent time with in the MidEast told me Mike let me give you some advice don’t ever get in a conversation about politics or religion unless you are really smart.”

Wallace added that he asked the general why he said that and the military man responded, “It’s like being balanced on a single edge razor blade, if you slip you will get cut.”

He then implored his followers to think about that the next time before they wrote something on Facebook or anywhere else where people can read it.

While it’s not known how long Wallace will have to sit out, one of the conditions of his reinstatement is that he will have to go through sensitivity training before a return is even considered by the governing body.

Wallace’s suspension comes as racing is still dealing with the fallout from an incident where a rope that was tied into what onlookers described as a noose was found in the garage of Bubba Wallace (no relation), the sport’s only Black driver. It was later determined the rope had been there for almost a year and likely wasn’t aimed at him specifically.