NASCAR Reponds to Mauricia Grant's $225 Million Lawsuit

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.

Racism in Sports

In a recent interview, boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. accused HBO's announcers of bias against him and other black fighters. "They praise white fighters, they praise Hispanic fighters, whatever. But black fighters, they never praise," said Mayweather. Click through to see other racially charged incidents from recent sports history.

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Radio host Don Imus, right, made a controversial comment about Cowboys defensive back Pacman Jones during one of his shows in June. Imus later said his remarks were intended to show the unfair treament of blacks.

AP / Getty Images

Mauricia Grant, seen here working at Daytona International Speedway in 2007, is suing NASCAR for $225 million, alleging racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination.

Laura Reitz, AP

In an April newspaper interview, Los Angeles Angels star Torii Hunter stated he had heard racial taunts from Red Sox fans at Fenway Park in the past. "'That N-word.' Some people would chant that out, some people would throw beer or whatever ... batteries," said Hunter.

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

Imus also 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.

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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

Here are the details as reported by the Associated Press:

Grant has insisted she did complain, and followed the chain of command all the way to Nationwide Series director Joe Balash. But she stopped short of telling human resources, Grant said, because she was reprimanded by that department for a separate incident that occurred two weeks after she complained to Balash.

Grant said she viewed the reprimand, which included a threat of termination, as retaliation for complaining to Balash.

But in NASCAR's response, it claims Grant was reprimanded with a warning of termination for an altercation with a track security guard at Michigan International Speedway who had asked to see Grant's credentials as she passed through a gate.

[...]

NASCAR also claims several of Grant's co-workers complained about her pattern of lateness, and said it often prevented them from promptly performing their job duties. The response alleges that Grant coined the phrases "Colored People's Time" and "Mo Time" in reference to her lateness.

It's one of the few instances in the response in which NASCAR directly addresses one of Grant's claims.

In her suit, Grant said she was often told by co-workers that she worked on "colored people time."

[...]

NASCAR's has placed the two officials accused of exposing themselves, Tim Knox and Bud Moore, on paid administrative leave. A third official, David Duke, was fired in April of this year for reasons NASCAR said are unrelated to Grant's suit.

Since filing her suit, The Associated Press reviewed court documents that revealed that Grant had a restraining order filed against her in 2002 by a former boyfriend, was arrested for driving under the influence and charged last October for driving with a suspended license.

Morelli said his client doesn't deny anything in her past, but previous actions have no bearing on the suit. NASCAR maintains her past actions are a reflection on Grant's character.