NASCAR rejects LGBcoin sponsorship of driver Brandon Brown

After walking back the controversial sponsorship earlier in the week, NASCAR has announced that they have formally rejected the proposal.

The phrase "Let's Go Brandon" has come a long way since its accidental inception at a NASCAR race on October 2. What began as a desperate attempt to cover up an obscene chant against President Biden has made the rounds through popular culture, politics, and has now come full circle back to its birthplace, the racetrack.

NASCAR driver Brandon Brown, whose name the aforementioned reporter claimed was being chanted by the crowd all those months ago, chose last week to embrace the phrase, entering into a sponsorship deal with the cryptocurrency that bares its name. LGBcoin was announced as Brown's lead sponsor on December 30, with the partnership set to take effect for the 2022 racing season.

On Monday, however, NASCAR walked back its alleged approval of the deal, and on Wednesday declared that LGBcoin would not be accepted as Brown's sponsor.

According to Jalopnik, NASCAR officials justified their decision, arguing that Brown's team, Brandonbilt Motorsports, had submitted their application "without NASCAR understanding the full nature of the context around LGBcoin." A representative stated that "the team owner and driver were told on Nov 5 in an in-person meeting that no form of this derogatory and vulgar euphemism would be allowed on any paint scheme or sponsorship."

It was also pointed out that Brandonbilt hadn't gone through the proper channels to get the sponsorship approved. As Jalopnik reports, the team only received confirmation via email, and not via the official application portal, which due to a holiday break was not even open yet.

Nonetheless, self proclaimed "LGBcoin HODLer" and spokesperson James Koutoulas vehemently defended Brown and the sponsorship, threatening to sue NASCAR.

Brown "went through proper NASCAR approval process and received formal written approval," he wrote. "If NASCAR revokes approval, we will bring suit upon them on behalf of all LGBcoin HODLers who were damaged by their reliance on NASCAR written approval." He ended the tweet with the hashtag, "#cancelnascar."