INDIANAPOLIS – It’s a damn shame we’re having this conversation again – the third time in less than 14 months, to be exact.

But that sad fact should be a sign to IndyCar and Juncos Hollinger Racing -- as well as Agustin Canapino -- that statements rebuking online vitriol alone won’t put a stop to a barrage of hate-filled messages that always seem to end up in the inboxes of those who come into contact with Canapino on-track.

What’s certainly isn't going to put an end to it is Canapino not taking this seriously. He went so far as to discredit the claims of young French driver Theo Pourchaire, his Arrow McLaren team and even JHR (evidenced by the teams’ joint statement Monday evening) that the IndyCar rookie had received death threats in the two days since he rolled through the Turn 3 braking zone in Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix – as so many in the 27-car field did – and speared Canapino’s No. 78.

The contact, which wasn’t extreme enough to end either driver’s day, came while Canapino was running 6^th and Pourchaire 9^th. Immediately following the incident, Pourchaire continued on in 8^th, with Canapino in 9^th. The Argentine driver would drop as low as 14^th following his final pit stop, run as high as 10^th in the closing stage and finish 12^th – tying the best mark of his IndyCar career. Pourchaire was subsequently penalized by race control for his role in the incident, ordered to drop three spots on Lap 65 for avoidable contact and dropped as low as 18^th after his final stop before carving his way to 10^th by the checkered flag.

Like the dozens of instances of contact in Sunday’s race, there should have been no reason for any fallout – particularly after Pourchaire called it his “mistake” in the team’s race recap.

But as has become a reliable trend among alleged fans of Canapino, any on-track contact to their favorite driver, no matter whose fault it was, becomes an event that requires multiple statements from team and series officials.

Juncos Hollinger Racing takes a positive step forward

In the wake of the pair’s contact Sunday, Pourchaire is said to have received numerous threatening messages – including death threats – on his social media accounts. Monday evening, Arrow McLaren and JHR – who this year share a strategic alliance that allows McLaren to place any overflow of sponsorship it has on the rear-wheel coverings on JHR’s No. 77 and 78 entries – issued a joint statement condemning the hate:

“Social media allows us to engage with our fans around the world, but it is important that we interact with each other in a respectful and safe environment. We will not tolerate any form of abuse or discrimination, and those participating in such actions are not welcome in our online community and will be blocked…It is vital that we collectively maintain a safe and welcoming community for all involved.”

Though the message was only organically posted by Arrow McLaren, both on X (formerly known as Twitter) and its own race website -- JHR merely retweet it -- it represented a combined effort between the teams to stamp out hate by reaching a wider audience and showing unity. Additionally, it read far harsher than JHR’s statements following two rounds of online abuse former JHR driver Callum Ilott received after a pair of run-ins with Canapino, his teammate, at Long Beach and Laguna Seca a year ago.

To drive the message home, JHR released its own statement Tuesday, saying, “abuse, hatred and harassment in any form is unacceptable. It is not tolerated within the Juncos Hollinger Racing community and is not representative of who we are as a team. We are working with those affected to identify the individuals responsible, and any violators of this policy will be blocked from the Juncos Hollinger Racing community.”

Had the story ended there, it would’ve no less been a sad display of hate disguised as fandom, and one might argue JHR and Canapino should’ve amplified the statement on their channels, but it amounted to progress nonetheless.

Canapino's social media activity troubling

That progress was all but erased Tuesday morning when Canapino posted a lengthy statement that hit some of the right notes – stating that he remains “against abuse and hate” and that those who transmit it “are certainly not part of our community” – but also essentially implied the death threats sent to Pourchaire didn’t exist and that the young French driver should “learn to live with it” as Canapino has chosen to do in his own situation.

“We Argentines are passionate and euphoric, but that doesn’t mean we should be accused of something we are not,” Canapino’s statement read. “Therefore, I strongly reject being generalized and placed in a category we don’t deserve.

“I have not seen a single death threat directed at those who claim to have received them…No one in their right mind would do such a thing. It’s outrageous to be accused of this so lightly, and I won’t allow it anymore.”

Not long after, someone who claimed to have sent Pourchaire a hate-filled message themselves posted a screenshot of it on X, in which the person appears to wish that the driver’s aeroscreen fails “and splits his head in half.”

These messages exist. That Canapino would imply that they don’t shows either a lack of judgement and/or a lack of understanding of the situation. Additionally, this is the third instance of drivers alleging to have received multiple hate-filled messages from Canapino's fans in just over a year.

Canapino went on to, essentially, tell Pourchaire to ignore it, as he says he does.

“I constantly receive abuse and hate, and I have learned to live with it, as many people do, choosing to ignore it. There’s nothing sadder and more miserable than hiding behind social media to insult others.”

In his ‘likes’ on X, Canapino dropped a “heart” – typically a sign of approval or agreement – on an array of related messages Monday night and throughout Tuesday. The most notable, posted by ESPN Latin America IndyCar commentator Martin Ponte, quote-tweeted Pourchaire’s own tweet acknowledging the “hate and death threats” he’d received with a message that read “Callum Pourchaire” – harkening back on the pair of similar instances Ilott was embroiled in a year ago. -

Others included messages written in Spanish that claim Ilott's and Pourchaire’s death threats weren’t real and that someone threatening to kill someone from thousands of miles away should be seen as a joke – to one of which Canapino replied “este (tweet) es buenisimo” or, in English, “this (tweet) is great,” followed by four laughing emojis.

When someone replied to his statement, asking why he’d made light of Ponte’s “Callum Pourchaire” tweet, Canapino ‘liked’ a response that reads, “Because it’s a funny post. You don’t see it.”

What happens next?

Last fall in various interviews following Canapino’s fans’ second run-in on social media with Ilott, Juncos tried to explain away the hate-filled online messages noting that Argentine sporting culture tends to be uber-passionate, and that it’s not uncommon for those frustrated to say or post outlandish things in the heat of the moment that they’d never act upon.

During an interview with reporters at this year’s season-opener in March, Jucnos and fellow co-owner Brad Hollinger noted the team had massively upgraded and strengthened its PR and communications side and was far more fit to deal with these situations.

That sentiment seemed to ring true in the team-specific actions over the last 24-36 hours, but not to JHR’s lone returning driver.

While this situation is complicated by the mixing of cultural and perhaps even generational norms, that Canapino continues to fan the flames in the form of ‘likes’ and ‘replies’ while casting doubt on Pourchaire’s claims amplifies the messages.

It should be said that those sending these messages to Ilott and Pourchaire is a minuscule minority of Canapino fans and Argentines. The overwhelming number of Spanish-language replies underneath the screenshot of the threatening message allegedly sent to Pourchaire denouncing it wholeheartedly make that clear.

This is not an ‘Argentine IndyCar fan’ problem, nor is it a ‘JHR fan’ problem or even a ‘Canapino fan’ one. It’s not an issue any one person or group can control or stop. But Canapino’s words and actions carry weight. That he seemingly is yet to grasp the reality of these continued hurtful barrages of messages his competitors have had to deal with is troubling and disappointing.

As IndyCar said in its own statement Tuesday midday, series personnel have been in contact with both teams, noting, “We all have a responsibility to reinforce a welcoming atmosphere and firmly denounce clear violations of online conduct.” Additional work is being done behind the scenes by Penske Entertainment officials to further address the matter, educate those involved and mitigate the effects of this latest instance.

Don’t expect Canapino to be parked, and I’d be surprised to even see any sort of a fine levied. But there’s education that needs to take place, whether it be formal classes or some serious heart-to-hearts with higher-ups to get this message across:

"These messages were indeed sent. They’re not okay in this culture and this sport. Anything less than denouncing them and ceasing to make light of them will not be tolerated. This is not a joke."

If that doesn’t land, should Canapino come into contact with another one of his 26 competitors again over this year’s final 11 events – and with three instances in his first 24 in IndyCar, that seems likely – more swift action from the series will be necessary.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Agustin Canapino's response to threats to Theo Pourchaire is troubling