COMMENTARY: Larson Gets It, But He May Be In The Minority

Personal responsibility may not be dead, but it’s in critical condition these days.

As the last 36 hours on social media will attest, a significant portion of NASCAR Nation has spent much of its time recently looking for someone to blame for Kyle Larson’s current predicament, other than Larson himself.

For those  who have been living under a rock for the last day or two, Larson got himself into hot water Sunday night, using a racial slur – the dreaded n-word – while taking part in an online iRace. His use of that word triggered a landslide of discussion and debate that continues today, with a shocking number of people defending what was said, and blaming people other than Larson for saying it.

Almost immediately, some online experts went to the tried-and-true tactic of blaming the media for Larson’s mess. After all, nobody would have known about his indiscretion if they hadn’t read about it in the newspaper, seen it on TV, heard it on the radio or seen it online. For the record, “the media” did not drop an n-bomb Sunday night, Kyle Larson did. Blaming the media for his current situation is like blaming the mailman for running up your credit card bill.

iRacing is also not to blame for Kyle’s current plight. There were calls yesterday for NASCAR drivers to show support for Larson by boycotting future iRacing events, based on the colossally ridiculous premise that iRacing had sinned by providing the venue Larson used to say what he said.

Some chastised NASCAR for “overreacting” to Larson’s statement and “attempting to destroy his career.” In reality, NASCAR has done nothing more than suspend Larson from a sport that is itself suspended, while providing him with an easy-to-follow road map back into the good graces of the sport. 

All NASCAR has asked of Larson is that he complete a Sensitivity Training course. The last driver to receive such a sanction was back on the race track in two weeks, and there is no reason to think that Larson will be any less successful. He has the ability to attend those sessions, make himself valedictorian of his class and be reinstated by NASCAR, long before our sport returns from the COVID-19 shutdown.

So much for destroying his career.

Larson is in hot water.

People are angry at Chip Ganassi for suspending Larson indefinitely, without pay. Put yourself in Ganassi’s shoes, for just one moment. You are the owner of a multi-million dollar NASCAR, IndyCar and Sports Car racing collossus, with hundreds of employees who depend on you to put food on the table, pay the monthly mortgage and buy little Timmy a new pair of shoes. You have major sponsors, without whom your organization will grind to a complete and total halt, and one of your employees has put that entire process in jeopardy by saying something that much of the country finds extremely distasteful. 

Under those circumstances, doing nothing – saying nothing -- is not an option. If you are Chip Ganassi, failure to take decisive action would be seen as tacit approval, and one can only imagine the outcry that would rightfully result from a NASCAR team owner saying, “We have no problem with our driver using the n-word.”

Amazingly, some people out there are even upset with Larson’s sponsors for withdrawing their financial support. Let’s make one thing perfectly clear; companies like McDonald’s, Credit One Bank, Advent Health, Chevrolet, Clover and Lucas Oil made Kyle Larson a millionaire. They bankrolled his NASCAR and World of Outlaws Sprint Car operations, allowing him to do what he loves at the highest possible level, while asking only that he be a positive representative for their respective brands. 

Larson obviously dropped the ball in that regard Sunday night, putting himself – and by association them – directly in the crosshairs of controversy, subjecting them to scrutiny and criticism that they did nothing to earn and do not deserve.

Can you imagine the response if McDonald’s had not reacted yesterday? Can you imagine the international tumult that would have ensued had the iconic Golden Arches simply shrugged their collective shoulders and said, “Oh well. Not our problem?"

 Those corporations had to react, and they reacted appropriately.

There is a road back...

If you’re questioning the fairness of yesterday’s sponsor withdrawals – and yes, it was a tough 90 minutes or so as they stepped away, one after another – ask yourself this. Is it coincidental that six highly successful corporations all responded to Larson’s comments in exactly the same way? Or was it a justifiable reaction to a serious breach of contract?

Despite the reams of red tape in the standard NASCAR sponsorship contract, the agreement is fairly simple. As a sponsor, we fund your race team at a colossally generous level, and you agree not to make us look bad.

Unwittingly and unintentionally, Larson made his sponsors look bad. It's guilt by association, and all six companies reacted in the best interest of their companies, their stockholders and their employees.

Here’s one of the few bits of good news in this mess. While a significant portion of NASCAR Nation flails its arms angrily in the dark, looking for someone to scapegoat other than the ridiculously handsome, incredibly talented, immensely likeable young man they see on television every Sunday afternoon, Kyle Larson gets it.

He knows who is to blame, and he said so yesterday in a 42-second apology video that was both heartfelt and sincere. He did not pass the buck. He did not blame NASCAR, iRacing, his sponsors or the media. He blamed himself for a momentary lapse of judgement that offended many, impacted thousands of innocent individuals who did nothing at all wrong, and plunged this sport (yet again) into an age-old controversy that has nothing to do with racing and everything to do with race.

In cases like this, it is possible to hate the sin, while loving the sinner. Very few people – and none outside the lunatic fringe – want Kyle Larson to be fired for his use of the n-word Sunday. It may happen, but no one looks forward to that possibility.

Supporting Larson in his bid to be reinstated by NASCAR is possible without defending the action that got him into this pickle. You can like and respect Larson (as I do) while still disliking what he said and the impact it has had on our sport.

I sincerely hope that Larson is able to rebound from this controversy by taking the steps NASCAR has laid out. People have short memories, and Larson will almost certainly receive another opportunity in this sport, whether with CGR or elsewhere.

Larson is in a dark place today, but the sun will eventually rise again. There is a road map back to the good graces of NASCAR, as proven by former series champion Kurt Busch.

Not so many years ago, Busch was as controversial a figure as this sport has ever seen. A negative-publicity generating machine, Busch alienated fans, media, team members and sponsors to the point where he was released by Penske Racing after being deemed more trouble than he was worth.

That experience was humbling in the extreme, forcing Busch to take a then-second tier ride with Furniture Row Racing, which was then  a few years away from its championship prime. Busch humbled himself, paid his penance and began the process of reclaiming both his image and his place in the sport. Today, he is a respected veteran and a stabilizing influence, ironically serving as a teammate/mentor for Larson at Chip Ganassi Racing.

If asked, Busch can draw a map that leads his young teammate back to the good graces of the game. And honestly, Larson is already off to a solid start.

He can remain a vital, important and valuable contributor to our sport. He is a once-in-a-lifetime talent who made a serious mistake that hopefully will not characterize the rest of his life, or the rest of his career.

Kyle Larson is not evil, and he is not a bad guy. He messed up Sunday, making a colossal mess that will take some time to clean up. But we all mess-up from time to time, in one way or another. The key is to learn from our mistakes, and not make the same one twice.

There is opportunity here for both learning and growth; for both Larson and the sport. His road back will not be easy. It will require him to humble himself and do some soul-searching, to determine where that ugly word came from, and how it slipped so easily from his lips.

But let’s be clear about one thing. This week’s controversy has nothing to do with political correctness and nothing to do with Free Speech. It has everything to do with treating your fellow human beings with dignity and respect. 

Intentionally saying things to people that you know to be hurtful and inflammatory does not make you a champion of free speech. It makes you a bully and a boor.

To those who appeared so angrily on social media yesterday, I’m truly sorry that you feel deprived of your perceived Constitutional right to utter racial slurs with impunity. 

I’m sorry you find it unfair that African Americans say a word to each other that we Caucasians are not allowed to use. 

I’m sorry that you have somehow de-evolved to a place where decrying racial slurs makes someone a snowflake. 

I can’t help you with any of those issues, but I know where the answer lies.

It’s right there, in your mirror. Examine it (or not) at your leisure.