Reporter who got driver suspended for liking meme suggests NASCAR fans are 'toothless hicks'

Daniel McFadin, the journalist that reported on Noah Gragson for liking a meme that led to the NASCAR driver being suspended, has come under fire for liking a post that called fans angry with the action "toothless hicks." 

In response to the suspension of Gragson, many NASCAR fans took to Twitter, now known as X, to vent their frustrations. When one person defended McFadin's reporting calling NASCAR fans "toothless hicks" McFadin liked the tweet.  

The original post came from user HKD and had only one like. The post said, "You did great Daniel! Don’t let these toothless hicks with nothing better to do than watch cars drive in circles get to you!" The only like was from McFadin.  

"Thank you for having integrity, & morals, Daniel!" HKD said.  

McFadin faced backlash for reporting Gragson for liking a meme of George Floyd pasted on the face of the crab from Little Mermaid. 

 

The caption of the meme said, "under da knee" instead of the line from the song, "Under the Sea." McFadin said that he "had friends and colleagues tell [him] to stay off Twitter" for the day. 

He declined the advice and stayed on the platform, saying, "I’m going to stand up for myself and my job." In his actions of staying online, he eventually liked the post about the fans of NASCAR.  

McFadin still has his column, "Dropping the Hammer: Noah Gragson's Big Mistake," pinned to his Twitter profile. In the column, he explains how he spent lengthy time in communication with the Legacy Motor Club to find out if the screenshot, showing that Gragson liked a meme of George Floyd, was real or not.  

McFadin doubled down on his article after backlash, saying, "I did my due diligence to make sure it was real," and that Gragson had made a "big mistake." 

After recounting what he did to get the report, McFadin quoted NASCAR President Steve Phelps as saying, "Our sport must do better. our country must do better," when Phelps responded to the death of George Floyd.

The Legacy Motor Club, the team Gragson has been on, said in a statement, "We have made the decision to suspend Noah Gragson effective immediately regarding his actions that do not represent the values of our team." 

NASCAR said that Gragson violated the member code of conduct of the league. "Following his actions on social media, NASCAR has determined that Gragson has violated the Member Conduct section of the 2023 NASCAR Rule Book and has placed him under indefinite suspension."