Republican Candidates Should Stop Pandering to Racist Sports Fans

by Julian Spivey
Republican Presidential candidates have found a new way to pander to the racists of their party, which unfortunately is a much too large portion of the conservative base it seems these days: talking about controversial sports topics and ending up on the wrong side of them.

In the last week both Ben Carson and Jeb Bush, two of the four GOP front-runners, have found themselves taking the pro-racism side on the topics of Confederate flags in NASCAR and the Washington Redskins’ nickname.

You would think that the lone African-American candidate wouldn’t be supportive of anything pertaining to the Confederate flag, a flag many African-Americans view as racist, but Carson has proven to be something of an Uncle Tom when it comes to race topics like Black Lives Matter, ultimately turning his back on his own race to gain conservative attention and make white voters feel at ease.

In a rally in North Carolina, essentially the home of NASCAR, earlier this week Carson told NASCAR fans that it was OK for them to fly their Confederate flags on private property – as if anybody had ever disputed what Americans could and couldn’t do on their own property. The Confederate flag at NASCAR tracks had been a hot debate since the Charleston shooting in June with the sport and certain tracks asking, not demanding, fans not to fly the offensive flag. The request from NASCAR at least partially backfired as some fans rebelling against the request seemingly showed up with more Confederate flags.

At the event, in which NASCAR legend Richard Petty informally endorsed Carson, the Republican candidate said, “If it’s a majority of people in that area who want it to fly, I certainly wouldn’t take it down.”

Telling people exactly what they want to hear has always been a popular tactic among politicians, even if it means lying or, in Carson’s case, turning his back on his own race.

​The biggest sports topic dealing with racism that has been brewing over the past year-plus has been the Washington Redskins’ team nickname. “Redskins” by its very definition is a racial slur and yet many football fans don’t seem to care that the name is offensive to an entire race of people and steadfastly defend it.

You can count Jeb Bush among those.

Speaking to the new The Arena radio show on SiriusXM, Bush told co-hosts Andy Katz and Rick Klein: “I don’t think [the team] should change it. But again, I don’t think politicians ought to have any say in that to be honest with you. I don’t find it offensive. Native American tribes generally don’t find it offensive.”

Bush, apparently thinking he can speak for all Native American tribes, is completely wrong when he says “Native American tribes generally don’t find it offensive” as numerous tribes have come out and said they would like to see the team change its name. Still, it wouldn’t be the dumbest thing Bush would say all week – his “stuff happens” response to the horrific Oregon community college mass shooting takes that cake.

Bush was correct about one thing, however, in saying that politicians ought to not have a say in such things, because all that does is lead to candidates like Bush and Carson pandering to the lowest individuals of their party who are just fine with racism seeping into professional sports.

Carson and Bush really should be worrying about more important things than standing up for NASCAR fans wanting to fly a Confederate flag or defending a team name that can’t be argued is not a racist slur.

Pandering to voters is something politicians have been doing since the dawn of time and it will always continue to stay this way, but let’s keep it out of sports, especially when it comes to the unnecessary defense of racists. 

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