Bubba Wallace was recently nominated for the People’s Choice Award “Game Changer of 2020” and social media isn’t happy. But while they’re angry organizers chose the NASCAR star, he said he was honored to join the list with other high-profile athletes.
Wallace was nominated for the award along with NBA legend Michael Jordan, who will be Wallace’s NASCAR team owner next season. They were chosen in addition to NBA great LeBron James, tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, WNBA standout Sabrina Ionescu, and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, a press release said.
“Wow.. honored to be a part of this elite list!” Wallace tweeted about the award nomination.
In addition to his athletic performance, Wallace pushed NASCAR to remove the Confederate Flag from its racetracks earlier this year. Similarly, he is an outspoken advocate for social justice reform in the wake of several high-profile deaths of black Americans. As a result, Wallace has gone from a rising NASCAR star to a well known cultural figure in the past year.
People can cast their ballot here for the Game Changer of 2020 until Oct. 23.
Bubba Wallace getting backlash after his nomination
Many people were unhappy to see Bubba Wallace listed as a nominee for the “Game Changer of 2020.” Many NASCAR fans have taken issue with his politics since he began to speak out about injustice. Furthermore, some people complained Wallace hadn’t been dominant enough in his sport to merit consideration.
Wallace had a lot of support as well, however. Moreover, many people were excited he was such an outspoken voice for change.
Wallace addresses his critics
Earlier this year, Wallace tweeted out his annoyance at his critics telling him to focus on NASCAR and to keep politics off the track. In short, Wallace said they were being hypocritical at best and disingenuous at worst.
