NASCAR confirmed on Saturday in a statement that Noah Gragson has been suspended indefinitely by Legacy Motor Club.
A controversy involving Noah Gragson and an offensive meme surfaced just before the race at Michigan International Speedway.
The Legacy Motor Club made the decision to suspend the driver and a little while afterwards, NASCAR issued its own suspension.
“We have made the decision to suspend Noah Gragson effective immediately regarding his actions that do not represent the values of our team,” Legacy Motor Club stated.
According to reports, the suspension came from screenshots that showed Gragson liking an Instagram post on Saturday that contained a meme making fun of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis in 2020.
Despite the fact that NASCAR didn’t state reason behind Gragson’s suspension in particular, it is assumed that his like on the meme was what led to his suspension as Gragson later expressed regret for his “lack of attention and actions on social media.”
Gragson didn’t put up the meme by himself but he did like it, and it was enough to get him suspended.
Both suspensions from NASCAR and his team are indefinite. However, Gragson is not the first driver to be suspended for behavior on social media and a return to the sport is possible, and it entails sensitivity training.
Gragson will be sidelined for at least two of the upcoming NASCAR races. Mike Rockenfeller will pilot the No. 42 this weekend at the Indianapolis Road Course and the following week at Watkins Glen International, according to Legacy Motor Club.
It wasn’t long before news of Noah Gragson’s split from Legacy Motor Club surfaced. However, according to later reports, Gragson will continue working with LMC and his exit from the team wasn’t the case.
NASCAR commented following the suspension.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Elton Sawyer stated via Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. “Noah is a talent. We want to set him up as an industry and as a league to go through the proper training. Get him educated on what it takes to get back.”
“He’s a professional athlete. There’s young kids and fans alike that watch Noah and really root for Noah.”
“We want to make sure that message that is being sent to young drivers and fans, that it’s done in the right way.”
“I’m sure that Noah will learn from this. That’s what we’re hoping. As well as the folks at Legacy Motor Club, will do everything to get him on the right path to get him in a good spot to come back and compete at a high level.”
