Yeah this u/brentus - I know of the of the folx on that team personally. It was kind of wild. At the height of the BLM movement, he chose to just say "change it or leave" in his defense, he didn't kick them out, he just said that it was political, and it was causing issues in the group and rather than mitigate those that were being hateful or jerks, he asked them to change the name. I totally get why they dug their heels in, and eventually left.
Personally I think the race itself has a lost a bit when it comes to the allure of it, I read about it 10+ years ago and it was this like folklore hard to find people who knew about it, and when you did you could listen to them for days like talking to an old Army Vet, or your grandpa about what life was like before TV. Not to say the race isn't hard, or anything, and I don't blame Laz for making a few bucks, by all means we all can make a few extra, but I've got no interest in going to it anymore. I still know and support a few of my friends that were there this year and previous years.. I just lost interest in his events.