Abernathy Issues Statement, Harley Still Cuts Ties

Harley-Davidson has repeated that it is severing ties with Union City dealership owner Russell Abernathy and is pulling its Facebook ads for the month of July because of racist social media posts attributed to him.

The posts were allegedly made last month on Abernathy's personal Facebook page, with one of them reading, “I’m sick of this black lives matter,” and telling black people to go “back to Africa and stay.”

Abernathy told Jackson, Tennessee TV station WBBJ that he did not make the posts and that his account was hacked.

“The derogatory nature of the comment in no way aligns with my personal beliefs or that of Harley-Davidson Motor Co. It personally saddens me that this post has caused such wide-reaching pain to those that have already been subject to so many social injustices,” he wrote in a statement posted on the company's website.

The Associated Press reached out to Abernathy for comment on Thursday. He did not answer any phone calls.

Harley Davidson Inc., headquartered in Milwaukee, said again on Wednesday that the Tennessee company would no longer be part of its dealer network.

“Racism, hate or intolerance have no place in the Harley-Davidson community or anywhere – in person or online. We are pausing our Facebook ads in July to stand in support of efforts to stop the spread of hateful comment,” Harley said on its website.

More than 500 companies that officially kicked off an advertising boycott Wednesday intended to pressure Facebook into taking a stronger stand against hate speech.

The full statement on Abernathy's dealership website says, "Regarding the social media post attributed to me on 6/12/2020. I, Russell Abernathy, did not post this comment and reject the content of it. I, and by extension Abernathy's Harley-Davidson, have been and will be welcoming to all riders regardless of race. The derogatory nature of the comment in no way aligns with my personal beliefs or that of Harley-Davidson Motor Company. It personally saddens me that this post has caused such wide-reaching pain to those that have already been subject to so many social injustices. I vow to make certain that Abernathy Harley-Davidson provides a positive environment of diversity, equality and inclusion for all."

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