Getty Images The controversial Westboro Baptist Church – known for its extreme prejudice of homosexuals and its conducting of anti-gay protests at various events, including funerals of American soldiers – will picket at the Kansas Speedway next month during a NASCAR weekend.
The WBC’s official website says that the church shall picket from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 21 before that day’s STP 400 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Church spokesperson Shirley Phelps-Roper first tweeted the news last weekend.
On March 9, motorsports blog Queers4Gears posted tweets from the WBC’s Margie Phelps that revealed a potential future protest of the series (WARNING: The preceding link contains language that may be offensive to some readers). However, those particular tweets did not disclose the location of a planned protest.
As noted at the time by both Q4G and SB Nation’s OutSports blog, a possible cause for the picket may be Q4G’s interview at Phoenix International Raceway with reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski. In that interview, Keselowski was asked if NASCAR was ready for an openly gay driver and if one would have trouble gaining acceptance in that world.
“I can’t speak for the fans, I can only speak for myself, but in this garage, if you can win, people will want to be a part of what you can do,” Keselowski responded.
The theory that his comments helped trigger the upcoming protest may be bolstered by the message that ends the notice of the protest on the WBC’s website: “God Hates Brad Keselowski!”
WBC leader Fred Phelps also communicated about the situation earlier this month, going so far as to re-tweet the OutSports pick-up of the Q4G interview while adding a hashtag and the message: “No wonder God kills & maims these idiot race car drivers & their fanatics on a regular basis!”
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Daytona International Speedway to get major facelift, eliminate 46,000 seats
Jun 18, 2013, 4:43 PM EDT
Illustration courtesy of Daytona International Speedway.
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Sonoma Raceway to honor memory of late PR chief John Cardinale
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Pirelli World Challenge: Duncan Ende highlights dangers of distracted driving
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As Chicago temperatures crept close to 90 degrees on Monday, NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers Regan Smith and Travis Pastrana cooled off in a unique way — and did a good deed in the process. Making several stops around the Windy City, Smith, who won Saturday’s NNS race at Michigan, and Pastrana sold ice cream bars…
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Lotus stake sale to Infinity creates a more tangled web of names
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