NASCAR is more screwed than the NBA

In case you missed it on Monday, there was a story that broke featuring allegations that, if true, could potentially be so damaging as to cripple an entire sport. No, I'm not talking about Tim Donaghy's attempt to go down in a Tony Montana-like hail of bullets by claiming that Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals was fixed. (The main problem the NBA has in that regard is the lack of shock that fans would have to that being true, even before Donaghy opened his maw. The fact that the latest Fox Sports poll shows that almost 80 percent of fans think that the fix was in on that game tells me that there was a fair amount of distrust of the NBA in general.)

No, I'm talking about NASCAR, and the $225 million discrimination lawsuit brought by a former tecnhnical inspector who is black and female. Obviously, it will be up to the courts to decide exactly what did or didn't happen, but Mauricia Grant's allegations make NASCAR seem like it's being run by some combination of Marge Schott, Isiah Thomas and this LSU baseball fan. Among some of the "highlights" of the allegations in her lawsuit:

• Co-workers gave her such heartfelt and personal nicknames as "Nappy Headed Mo'" and "Queen Sheba" and told her that she worked on "colored people time"
• Her supervisor, Nationwide Series director Joe Balash (you know, the person she should have turned to with complaints about discrimination) asked her "Does your workout include an urban obstacle course with a flat-screen TV on your back?"
• Grant was forced to work outside more often than the white male officials because her supervisors believed she couldn't sunburn because she was black - apparently NASCAR has hired Dusty Baker as their Special Sunburn Advisor
• When packing up a dark garage at Texas Motor Speedway an official told Grant: "Keep smiling and pop your eyes out 'cause we can't see you."

And on and on. I know some of you are saying "This is a surprise?" And yeah, any sport that has hundreds of Rebel flags flying in the infield and stands during events has a bit of a problem with race. Which, of course, is why this is so bad. NASCAR is desperate to move past it's redneck past, but without alienating their "core" fans (i.e rednecks). In order to continue to grow (and stop their ratings flatlining), they need to reach new audiences. Advertisers need NASCAR to broaden their reach. That's why they've poured huge resources into their largely-unsuccessful Drive for Diversity campaign.

And then this happens. As you can expect, NASCAR has gone into full retreat mode, with NASCAR Chairman Brian France saying that he just wishes she would have gone to her supervisors with her complaints instead of filing a lawsuit. The same supervisors who were asking her if a little urban looting was part of her workout routine. Right.

All in all, I'm just stunned that NASCAR didn't settle this quietly and out of the public eye, whether the allegations were true or not. It's a huge, dark cloud hanging over the sport as it tries to maintain its position as a major sport and not drift back into "niche sport" status that is beloved by some in certain areas but not popular across the US.

Posted by The Duke of Everything at 9:17 AM