Richard Petty is a very famous, very successful, and very old NASCAR driver. So when he said a stupid thing about NASCAR driver Danica Patrick last week, we all let out a collective "ugh" and shook our heads. Just so we know, though, Richard Petty is NOT a sexist. In fact, Richard Petty loves women. A lot.
This is all according to Richard Petty, of course.
When he said last week that Ms. Patrick would only win a race "if all the other cars stayed home," it was not because Ms. Patrick has ladyparts, definitely not. Via the USA Today:
"What I said is what I said and that's what I believe, OK?" Petty told a small group of reporters prior to the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway. "What's unfair is the sexist part. If her name had been Danny, OK, nobody would have said anything about it.
Richard Petty is right. It is totally unfair, to call him sexist. Why, if there was a similar driver (who also happened to say incredibly stupid things), who ran in, let's just say, 829 races over 30 years and only managed to win eight of them thus garnering a win rate of only 1%, then they would also be a crap driver. Right?
Sure.
But just so we get the message about how NOT sexist Richard Petty is, Richard Petty would also like us to know how much Richard Petty is all full of love, for women:
"It was definitely not sexist, OK? Hey look, I've been married 55 years to the same woman. So I am not a sexist by any ways. I love women."
Well I guess that settles it. Richard Petty is married, ergo Richard Petty is not a sexist. This is true, as married men have never said horrible things.
TL;DR: Richard Petty loves the ladies. Don't get him wrong, they rev his engine.
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