Just to add to my previous post...
This was not some action which Ballou did, it was just something he said. The sanction, and these tracks have made a mountain out of a mole hill simply by making an issue out of this. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.". Venerable, ole USAC, I thought, was above something like this; but hey, derangement in 2018 is thick.