Alex Bowman No.88 told his crew member he wasn’t feeling well during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff event with a spot in the next playoff round in jeopardy.
For most supporters, it was not only understandable for Bowman to have anxiety, but also admirable he was open to sharing it with others.
A well known NASCAR media member, decided Bowman’s mental health should something joked about. He created an #AnxietyAlex hashtag via Twitter. Each of the three times he used the nickname, he ended up to receive some major backlash from the racing community.
Motorsports.com editor Jim Utter blocked a wave of critics to his remarks from accessing his account but has left up the tweets for several hours after posting.
Alex Bowman did eventually, advanced to the Round of 8 with a strong finish to the Bank of America ROVAL 400. however, even if he’d faltered down the stretch, the jokes about his mental health would have been a disgrage.
As someone who struggles with this as a real mental issue, this is not funny. https://t.co/glmXj3W70d
— Matt Tifft (@matt_tifft) October 11, 2020
‘Man, there is something wrong with me’ – Kyle Busch
Bowman stated after the race that his anxiety had calmed: “With the race team that (Rick Hendrick) has given me and put me with, all the resources we have, I feel like it was pretty necessary to make the Round of 8,” Bowman told reporters of his experience in the car on Sunday. “It means a lot to me and I put a lot of pressure on myself to make that happen.”
Gonna throw my name on the list of people who believe that this tweet by NASCAR media member is incredibly irresponsible and insensitive. Good grief.https://t.co/IyA1Z5Db24
— Nick Bromberg (@NickBromberg) October 11, 2020
Anxiety isn't a joking matter.
– Someone who's been dealing with the hell that word signifies for multiple years, and severely in recent weeks.
— Jacob Seelman (@JacobSeelman77) October 11, 2020
Jim, I’ve wanted to say this for a while now but I’ve held off. You’re a clown! I hope @Motorsport let’s you go.
— Josh Bilicki (@joshbilicki) October 11, 2020