Photo: IMAGO NASCAR
NASCAR team punishes employee after ‘Hawk Tuah’ meme controversy
NASCAR
Photo: IMAGO ‘); }
A NASCAR employee has faced serious consequences after posting a version of the viral ‘Hawk Tuah’ meme on his team’s official account.
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The incident occurred on X, formerly Twitter, when a rain delay caused practice and qualifying to be cancelled at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
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Fans of the NASCAR Xfinity Series JD Motorsports team were in for a surprise when they saw the ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl edited into an image of the clouds above the New Hampshire circuit, symbolizing the woman spitting on the track.
While some fans found the meme, which has been repurposed in hundreds of ways since it went viral, funny, others felt it was inappropriate, a view shared by the team who have since taken action against the employee.
Employee faces consequences for ‘Hawk Tuah’ meme
JD tire specialist Robert Dorman was the offender and has since lost access to the social media account.
He confirmed it on his personal “Owner Johnny Davis’ beliefs had to eliminate him.”
Amid speculation that Dorman had been fired from the team entirely, Davis issued a statement addressing the controversy via the team’s X account.
“Here at JD Motorsports, our social platforms have to represent and support our partners,” he explained. “As a parent who has raised a child with special needs, I have had to explain many misunderstandings to my son.
“(Dorman’s) post attracted a lot of attention. As a tire specialist who had privileges to post only racing content, this did not comply with what Robert was allowed to post.
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“It’s not that I have to defend my actions to the NASCAR community, but how can a parent explain this issue to a child who doesn’t understand? I had to react to Robert Dormans’ post according to our standards and beliefs.
“Robert Dorman was not fired from his job as a tire specialist at JD Motorsports. His privilege to post exclusive “racing” content was revoked!
“We appreciate a good joke or meme as much as anyone, but there are limits. Thanks for being a true JD Motorsports fan.”
This statement was met with some criticism in the responses. One fan wrote that “at least his social media posts produce better results than the cars on the track do,” while another posted: “What’s a kid too young to understand the joke doing on Twitter? It seems like a bad joke.” excuse for an impulsive reaction.
On the other hand, some praised the decision, with one writing: “I’m sorry that most commenters here don’t understand that a child with special needs thinks differently than others. It shows what our world is like today.”
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