Long-hitting PGA Tour standout Bubba Watson announced that he will paint over the Confederate flag on top of his Dukes of Hazzard official General Lee Dodge Charger that he bought for $110,000 at an Arizona auction in 2012.
Watson plans on painting an American flag on top of the car to replace the General Lee’s Confederate symbol.
Last week’s winner of the Travelers Championship and two-time Masters victor tweeted on Thursday the reason he decided to give the 1969 Hemi classic a makeover:
The tweet comes in response to the horrific murder of nine churchgoers by a white supremacist at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17.
Watson mirrors the sentiments of South Carolina Governor Nicky Haley, who ordered the flag’s removal from the Columbia statehouse, TV Land, which canceled re-runs of The Dukes of Hazzard, and Amazon, which pulled the video game Civil War: 1863 from its App Store because it accurately displays the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia.
ESPN reported that Daytona International Speedway and the rest of the NASCAR tracks hosting national series races request that fans stop showing the Confederate flag at the racetracks.
“We are asking our fans and partners to join us in a renewed effort to create an all-inclusive, even more welcoming atmosphere for all who attend our events,” the statement said.