1999 Indianapolis 500 - Sports Illustrated Controversy

Sports Illustrated Controversy

On May 1, 1999 at the VisionAire 500K at Lowe's Motor Speedway three spectators were killed, and eight others (two of whom were children) were injured when a piece of debris went into the grandstands. On the 61st lap, Stan Wattles crashed in turn four, shearing off both right-side wheels. The car of John Paul, Jr. struck one of the wheels, propelling it into the stands. A witness claimed a wheel with suspension pieces flew into the seats. The incident occurred two weeks before the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was scheduled to open for practice.

In the May 10, 1999 edition of Sports Illustrated, Ed Hinton penned an article reporting the tragedy, and discussed the general topic of safety in motorsports. The magazine's editors in New York published the article accompanied by an AP photograph taken at the scene. The photo featured a security guard standing next to two dead bodies in the grandstands covered with bloody sheets, and blood covering the steps.

In the week following the magazine's release, IMS/IRL president Tony George issued a letter stating his extreme displeasure with the article and the photo, describing that it was insensitive and inappropriate, and declared that Hinton would be denied credentials to the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and future events at the track. Immediately after word of the ban spread, press and media response was very negative. The Chicago Tribune, The Detroit News, Los Angeles Times, and several other newspapers announced they were all boycotting the event, citing censorship. In addition, they came to the defense of Hinton, because he himself wrote only the text in the article, and did not know about the photograph until after the edition was published.

A few days later, the controversy reached a boiling point, and Tony George backed down and retracted the ban. He issued Hinton his credentials, and most of the reporters (some reluctantly) returned to cover the race. However, the Hinton/censorship incident stayed in the news for a long time, and caused friction between the media and the still-fledgeling league.

Due to the tragedy at Charlotte, the league adopted wheel tethers in time for the 1999 Indy 500 to prevent tires from flying off cars during crashes and potentially injuring spectators and drivers.