How Do You Cheer for Russian Sponsored Americans?

This is the Statt Mann Baby. Time to Scatt a little bit.

Five years ago, when Gene Haas took the American Red, White and Blue colors into F1 we all stood and cheered. We’d waited decades for that exhale.

Well, it’s different this week. The Red, White and Blue colors flying on the Haas F1 car were in the form of a Russian flag, a Russian corporate title sponsor and a Russian driver who’s caught in his own mess from an indiscretion with a woman on Social Media.

Now I can hear all the noise: sports is supposed to be apolitical. Tell that to any Olympic athlete battles nationalism every time they enter the arena.

Further, there’s supposed to be a ban on Russian national imagery in international sports due to a major doping scandal. That makes the Haas car borderline illegal.

How do you cheer for an American team carrying the colors of a nation that attacked our computer networks so thoroughly last year we still don’t know how much damage has been done.

Gene Haas I hope their money tastes sweet.

Peace.