Brant James

USA TODAY

A spokesman for NASCAR’s first-year title sponsor said the publicity stemming from some owners’ opinions on national anthem protests likely will not impact its longevity in the sport.

Monster Energy vice president of sports marketing Mitch Covington told USA TODAY Sports: "The comments should have no affect on our decision."

Team owners Richard Childress and Richard Petty, echoing the sentiment of President Donald Trump regarding NFL players kneeling during the anthem, said Sunday they would fire any employees who staged a similar political protest, with Petty insisting anyone who did such “ought to be out of the country. Period.”

More:Dale Earnhardt Jr. quotes JFK, says Americans have right to 'peaceful protests'

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Andrew Murstein, majority owner of Richard Petty Motorsports, later told ESPN that while he disagrees with such demonstration, he would not fire an employee for expressing themselves.

Lauded as an industry by Trump for its unanimity with his view, NASCAR became a foil for late-night television Monday.

In his monologue on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the comedian wondered how African-American driver Bubba Wallace could make a lap without being stopped by police, even including Monster Energy in his punchline.

Optics of the issue would seem important as Monster Energy must inform NASCAR this year whether it will pick up a two-year option that would run through 2020.

Monster is currently in the first year of a two-year pact. Sports Business Journal reported this week that the energy drink company requested in late summer to extend its December deadline for the reported $20 million annual deal.

NASCAR as an industry largely has viewed the protests as an affront to the American flag or military although it began as an effort to express concern over social injustices including police brutality and racial inequality. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the first athlete to kneel.

Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. reminded his Twitter followers this week of citizens’ right to peaceably express grievances.

NASCAR issued a statement more than a day after the owners’ comments before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, asserting that “we live in a country of unparalleled freedoms and countless liberties, including the right to peacefully express one’s opinion.”

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