Mauricia Grant Hits NASCAR With $225M Lawsuit

UPDATE: NASCAR strikes back at Mauricia Grant with a 29-page report.
8/12/2008
As we peek in on the latest episode in the Mauricia Grant vs NASCAR imbroglio, NASCAR has struck back with a 29-page response defending itself against Grant's $225 million discrimination lawsuit. If the details of the rebuttal are true, then Grant has some big time explaining to do.

NASCAR's key assertion is that Grant never filed a single complaint about any harrassment she allegedly endured throughout her time at NASCAR. Further, NASCAR claims that Grant often described herself using racial stereotypes and was repeatedly reprimanded for tardiness and other behavioral problems. Read more.

PREVIOUS POST

Mauricia Grant, a former "technical inspector," has filed a $225 million dollar lawsuit against NASCAR. Grant claims that she was routinely subjected to sexual and racial harassment and that when she finally complained to her bosses, NASCAR fired her.

If the details are true, Grant's story tears the covers off a workplace more like an old boys club than a premiere sports organization. What Grant describes is a workplace hell that anyone who's experienced sexual or racial harassment knows well.

For NASCAR, more than money may be at stake. As Grant's experiences fly in the face of NASCAR's efforts to portray itself as an organization that welcomes black people. ...

Racism and Sports

Mauricia Grant, pictured here working during the Stater Bros 300 in 2006, is suing NASCAR for $225 million, alleging racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Click through to see other racially charged incidents from recent sports history.

Mike Basso, US Presswire

In a newspaper nterview in April, Los Angeles Angels star Torii Hunter said he had heard racial taunts from Red Sox fans at Fenway Park in the past.

Lisa Blumenfeld, Getty Images

Kosuke Fukudome has become a sensation in his first season in Chicago, but shirts emblazoned with a stereotypical caricature of Asians and the words "Horry Kow" (a play on ex-Cubs announcer Harry Caray's home run call) offended the Japanese outfielder.

Nam Y. Huh, AP

Earlier this year Golf Channel analyst Kelly Tilghman said on air that other golfers should "lynch [Tiger Woods] in a back alley" to better compete with him. In the aftermath, Golfweek Magazine ran a cover with a hanging noose, for which editor Dave Seanor was fired.

Golfweek / AP

Radio host Don Imus caused a stir in 2007 when he referred to members of the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." CBS canceled his long-running show 'Imus in the Morning,' but he returned to airwaves with ABC later in the year.

Spencer Platt, Getty Images

Rush Limbaugh was hired as a commentator for ESPN's NFL pre-game show Sunday Countdown, but he lasted only a few weeks after implying that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb received great praise mostly because he was black.

Getty Images

Former golfer and current CBS commentator Bobby Clampett made waves at this year's Masters when he referred to golfer Liang Wen-Chong as "the Chinaman" on air.

Mike Powell, Allsport / Getty Images

African soccer players, like Cameroon international Samuel Eto'o, are often the targets of racially charged taunts in Spain. Fans of Real Zaragoza made monkey-like chants at the Barcelona striker during a 2005 match, and he nearly walked off the pitch during a match against the club the next season.

Phillippe Desmazes, AFP / Getty Images

In an interview with HBO's Real Sports last summer, former Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield claimed that manager Joe Torre gave white players preferential treatment during his time in New York and said that biracial shortstop Derek Jeter wasn't "all the way black."

Mark Mainz, Getty Images

John Rocker's inflammatory comments in a 2000 Sports Illustrated article made him one of the most despised athletes in recent memory. Rocker described riding the New York subway as "looking like you're riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS."

Matt Campbell, AFP / Getty Images

The lawsuit states Grant was subjected to "virulently racist harassment, a racially hostile work environment and insidious and pervasive race discrimination reflective of a former, uglier era in our nation's history."

The lawsuit also states Grant was subjected to "lewd and obscene sexual harassment, a sexually hostile work environment and rampant gender discrimination." It goes on to state that all manner of NASCAR officials, including supervisors, "perpetuated, condoned and actively participated in perverted and disgusting sexual conduct designed to demean and diminish (Grant) and the handful of other women employed by NASCAR as officials."

Grant, who was the only black female official and began with NASCAR in January 2005, said in the suit she was fired for her "poor work performance" but said she had received positive performance evaluations and had received no warnings aside from one about her use of "street" language.

Grant's allegations are very specific and she claims to have kept detailed notes about what went down. NASCAR on the other hand is not denying Grant's account, but claims Human Resources "didn't know" about Grant's situation.

She contends in the suit that NASCAR officials would send her obscene e-mails or text messages, such as this from official David Duke last November: "I love all Yall mofos, i am that nigga, HAHAHA, Holla, PIMPALICIOUS." Or, she contends, Duke would say in her presence, "What up, my nigga?"

When she complained to NASCAR officials, Grant told USA TODAY on Tuesday, "I was basically told to deal with it because the men that I was working with, a lot of them were military men and I needed to learn how to act like they act if I wanted to be successful.

"I felt like I was in it by myself and that I had to make an attitude adjustment. It hurt because I basically just tried to do my job and tried to avoid co-workers. I was hurt and disgusted by the whole thing."

"I don't want this (lawsuit) to be my legacy as the first African-American female to do this job," Grant told USA TODAY. "I did (the job) in a way that I can hold my head up high with pride. That doesn't mean I have to put up with race discrimination or sexism or retaliation."

Some commenters on other sites, say Grant should have just quit or toughened up. They say that she stayed just long enough to gather evidence for a lawsuit. What do you think? Should she be suing? Or should she have just walked away and gone to the press or NASCAR executives?