NASCAR driver Brandon Brown, whose interview led to the popular “Let’s go, Brandon” chant that is bedeviling President Joe Biden and his supporters, has decided to embrace the controversy.
After initially claiming that he was not political and was having trouble finding a sponsor because of the chant’s dubious background, Brown is now being sponsored by a cryptocurrency, LGBCoin. The token is an acronym for the infamous chant. which itself is a variation on a more vulgar phrase embraced by Biden detractors.
The Twitter handle for LGBCoin is a new crypto whose slogan is a “meme coin inspiring patriotism.” It can currently be traded on Coinbase and Uniswap. It has sold more than $190,000 worth in the last 24 hours at a microscopic price hovering around $0.00000007867 per token.
Brown’s support of the coin comes a month after he claimed it was “unfortunate” that he was involved in the policitcal controversy.
“It got extremely difficult for us,” Brown told Sports Business Journal. “If you’re a national corporation, that means you sell to all consumers … and unfortunately, when you get dragged into the political arena, people want you to take a side. I’ve never been put in a position where it’s, ‘OK, what side are you on? Left or right?’ So it’s hard for a brand to want to attach to somebody who might be kind of divisive in their consumer base.”
Brown also talked about his role in an op/ed for Newsweek.
“Racing at 200 miles per hour doesn’t give me a lot of time to think about politics,” Brown wrote. “And even if it did, I have always preferred the roar of the engine to the roar of my voice.”
“Let’s go America,” Brown concluded the op/ed.
Brown’s embrace of the LGB may not sit well with NASCAR. Earlier this year, Steve Phelps, the NASCAR president, said that the organization does not want to be associated with the “Let’s go, Brandon” movement.
NASCAR is claiming it has not approved the sponsorship. Brown’s team claimed it had all the approvals needed to go along with the announcement.
Phelps previously said NASCAR will pursue action against any illegal use of its trademarks on merchandise boasting the slogan, which have started to sprout.
Phelps claimed NASCAR respects the presidential office.
“Do we like the fact that it kind of started with NASCAR and then is gaining ground out elsewhere? No, we’re not happy about that,” Phelps said.
