Hours after posting the headline “Love is in the air among NASCAR drivers (and their sisters)”, NBC Sports’ website issued a sarcastic apology to anyone who pointed out the relatively obvious issues with the wording.
“Oh, for crying out loud”, the statement began, “people are actually upset about this? We give better Nascar coverage than anyone this side of Jayski, and people STILL want to complain?!?
“OK, fine then—we’re sorry that we mistakenly published a headline that could be seen as perpetuating the stereotype that southerners engage in incest. There—happy now?”
The headline apparently was made with no ill-will or malicious intent. However, the story—about William Byron dating the sister of competitor Ryan Blaney—was quickly shared for its, in retrospect, poor choice of headline.
“Oh, so some of you think this is funny?”, the NBC Sports statement continued. “Well, we publish dozens—even HUNDREDS—of online stories every day. Fox (Sports’ website) barely does anything outside of videos anymore. But noon—you’re not grateful, you’re just snickering like a bunch of 12-year-olds because our headline writer was having an off-day.
“Well you know what? Our headline writer was having a bad day because his kid had food poisoning last night. So he was up ALL NIGHT and is just a LITTLE sleep-deprived. But that doesn’t matter to you, now does it?”
Attention on the sport is at a high as fans look forward to the Daytona 500 in a little over a week. However, NBC Sport’s statement concluded with a rather negative outlook on the 2020 season.
“So, again, we’re SOOO sorry that we happened to make you offended or giggle like a schoolgirl. Go back to focusing on the upcoming season by complaining about every little thing. We just can’t win with you people!
“Then again, you’re STILL easier to deal with than IndyCar fans.”