WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. — Professional golfer and “Dukes of Hazzard” fan Bubba Watson says that he will be replacing the Confederate flag on his “General Lee” 1969 Dodge Charger with an American flag.
According to the New York Times, the two-time Masters champion said on Friday that while he loves the TV show, he knows that the Confederate flag is offensive to many people—especially in the wake of the racially-motivated June 17 shooting that left nine people dead in a historically-black Charleston, South Carolina church.
“I thought it was the right gesture for me to do,” said Watson, who purchased one of the official iconic orange muscle cars from the show for $110,000 at an Arizona auction in 2012.
Watson, competing this weekend at the Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia, told the Times that he has been keeping the car in his garage to avoid controversy.
“Obviously, the flag is the controversy, not the TV show,” said Watson, who says that he owns the DVD box set of the popular 1970’s show. “Once people start putting hatred on it, I don’t want to be involved in that.”
Warner Brothers, which owns “The Dukes of Hazzards,” has stopped licensing merchandise from the show over the controversy. In addition, the show has been pulled from the TV Land cable network.
“I don’t stand for hatred,” Watson said. “I think we’re all created equal.”