Some people don’t think of NASCAR as a terribly inclusive sport, but that’s changing for the better, thanks to fair-minded sponsors like Red Bull.
At a race last weekend, our eagle-eyed pals at Queers4Gears spotted a homophobe in their midst — a man by the name of Jeremy Fuller, who is part of the Red Bull Racing Team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Or perhaps we should say: was a part of the Red Bull Racing Team.
Here’s what happened: as Fuller was leaving the track in Sonoma, California, he saw an SUV with a rainbow sign in the back window that said “ON OUR WAY TO S.F. GAY PRIDE!” Fuller tweeted a pic of the sign and said “This is way [sic] I don’t live here“.
That was bad enough, but then one of Fuller’s followers, @gofastharvick29 picked up the ball and replied via tweet: “yea if we could get rid of them it’d be a lot better”. To which Fuller responded, “lol.. Don’t we all wish!!”
Queers4Gears notified NASCAR and Red Bull about the offensive tweets. NASCAR hasn’t yet issued a formal response, but the organization does have a non-discrimination policy that prohibits any NASCAR member from making a statement that “criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages” anyone on the basis of her/his sexual orientation.
Red Bull, on the other hand, acted very swiftly. After conducting an internal investigation, the company terminated Fuller’s contract. Fuller accepts guilt for the first tweet, but claims to have no idea how the second got posted to his account.
This is just the latest in a string of homophobic rants vented by folks in the wide world of sports over the past year or so. As sorry as we might be to see someone lose a job over a 25-character tweet, we’re happy to see corporate officials treating homophobia as seriously as racial, sexual, and ethnic slurs.
For a lot more detail, be sure to read the full story at Queers4Gears.