The former big boss of Formula 1 wanted to clarify things after the words of the world champion.
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Bernie Ecclestone, the former Formula 1 CEO, ranted at the Sunday Express this Sunday after Lewis Hamilton called his comments on racism “ignorant and uneducated.”
The six-time Formula 1 world champion reacted on Instagram on Saturday following an interview with his compatriot at CNN during which he notably said that blacks can be more racist than whites.
Ecclestone, 89, insisted he was not a racist, before stating that racism is not a social problem.
He then tried to discredit the protests against police brutality, and said that it is “suddenly fashionable to speak of diversity”.
Ecclestone said, “I am not anti-Black. Quite the contrary. I have always been very supportive of diversity ”.
“In fact, Lewis’ father [Hamilton] wanted to go into business with me. He made beautiful rowing machines. I wouldn’t have even thought about it if I had been anti-black. If the project had been good, I would have done it ”.
“Over the years, I have met many white people whom I did not like, but never a black man who I did not like.”
“I have been attacked several times, including once by three blacks. I ended up in the hospital, but even after that, I was never against someone who was black. “
“I don’t think of Lewis as a black man or anything else. He’s just Lewis for me. “
“If a black or white man is denied a job, we have to ask why. Is it because of the color of their skin or because they were not up to par? That’s what I said. “
“And then people take part in these marches, organized by quasi-Marxists who want to bring down the police, which would be a disaster for the country. If you asked most of them exactly what they were protesting about, they probably wouldn’t know. “
Ecclestone then compared the difficulties of being black to those of being small, and said that blacks must learn to face them in the same way as him. “It is not my fault if I am white, or if I am a little smaller than the neighbor. At school, they called me Titch (little person, note). I realized that I had to do something. Black people have to take care of themselves. “
Voices were raised asking Formula 1 to ban Bernie Ecclestone from the circuits when the world championship resumes on July 5 in Austria.
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