Hamlin respects NASCAR punishment for crass anti-Asian meme

By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Denny Hamlin says he’s respects NASCAR’s decision to begin sensitivity training after he posted a meme on Twitter that used a clip from the comedy “Family Guy” to mock reigning champion Kyle Larson. The clip from the episode has long been removed from streaming platforms but can still be found on YouTube. It depicts an Asian woman cutting across six lanes of traffic to cause an accident. Larson last Sunday at Talladega cut across multiple lanes on the final lap to trigger a wreck that collected both cars that Hamlin owns. Larson is half Japanese. Hamlin says he understands how some people found the meme offensive and said he’d do better in the future.