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Sports Briefs: NASCAR reaches deal to settle $225 million suit filed by former employee
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Published: December 19, 2008
CHARLOTTE -- NASCAR has settled a $225 million lawsuit filed by a former official who said she was subjected to racial discrimination and sexual harassment during her two-plus years working for the stock-car organization, The Associated Press has learned.
The suit was settled during a Dec. 3 mediation held in New York between Mauricia Grant and NASCAR. Settlement terms were confidential.
Grant, who is black, worked as a technical inspector responsible for certifying cars in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series from January 2005 until her October 2007 termination. In the lawsuit filed in June in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Grant reported 23 specific incidents of alleged sexual harassment and 34 specific incidents of alleged racial and gender discrimination during her employment.
Among Grant's claims, she said she was referred to as "Nappy Headed Mo" and "Queen Sheba," by co-workers, was often told she worked on "colored people time," and was frightened by one official who routinely made Ku Klux Klan references.
Grant also said she was subjected to sexual advances from male co-workers, two of whom allegedly exposed themselves to her, and graphic and lewd jokes.
More auto racing
■ The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix has been canceled because of economic problems in Michigan and the country, the latest setback in the sport rocked by sponsorship woes and a series of cutbacks and layoffs.
Race chairman Bud Denker told the Detroit Free Press yesterday that the race was canceled after talks with city and state officials, sponsors and the Indy Racing League.
Set for Sept. 4-6, the race also included American Le Mans Series and SCCA Speed World Challenge races.
Also yesterday in Ohio, Mansfield Motorsports Park announced its closing, also citing the slow economy. The move came a day after the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race scheduled for May 23 was canceled.
■ It's taken Iowa Speedway just three years to position itself as a leading track in the Midwest.
The Des Moines speedway announced yesterday its third major race for the 2009 season. The track will host a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race -- formerly known as the Craftsman Truck Series -- on Sept. 5.
The race was originally planned for Mansfield Motorsports Park in Mansfield, Ohio, but was canceled because of the struggling economy.
In came Iowa Speedway, which also landed a Nationwide Series race for 2009 earlier this year. The track's 2009 schedule includes the third annual Iowa Corn Indy 250. The two new races are part of NASCAR's top two circuits below the Sprint Cup Series.
NASCAR drivers such as Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have tested at the 7/8-mile oval since it opened in late 2006.
College basketball
■ Police arrested Andy Kennedy, Mississippi's men's coach yesterday, after a cab driver in Cincinnati said Kennedy punched him while calling him "bin Laden" and other racial insults.
A pretrial hearing has been set for Jan. 16. Kennedy was charged with a first-degree misdemeanor count of assault, which would carry a maximum sentence of six months in jail for conviction.
Kennedy denied the allegations and his attorney, Mike Allen, entered a written plea of not guilty in Hamilton County Municipal Court on Thursday.
Kennedy, a former assistant and interim head coach at Cincinnati, was set to coach the Rebels against No. 9 Louisville in the SEC/Big East Invitational later last night.
The complaint filed in Municipal Court says that that Kennedy assaulted Mohamed Moctar Ould Jiddou and "punched victim with a closed fist while shouting racial slurs." Kennedy, 40, was arrested at 1:15 a.m., police documents show.
Police subsequently arrested Bill Armstrong, director of operations for the basketball team, on a charge of disorderly conduct. Armstong, 31, was intoxicated and had been ejected from the Lodge Bar Cincinnati downtown, and had continued taunting the taxi driver, the police report stated. Allen also entered a not guilty plea for him and his pretrial hearing was also set for Jan. 16.
■ Junior forward David Lighty of Ohio State will miss six to 12 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot, Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said yesterday.
Lighty injured the foot late in a home win over Jacksonville on Wednesday night. Lighty tied his career high with 21 points as the 17th-ranked Buckeyes (7-0) remain undefeated with an 81-68 victory.
Lighty is the most experienced player on the team, having played in 83 games, starting 51. He averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in seven games this season.
■ Marcus Monk is expected to suit up Saturday night when Arkansas hosts Stephen F. Austin.
Monk, an accomplished wide receiver for the Razorbacks, completed his football eligibility last season, but he struggled to gain a foothold in the NFL. Monk, 6-6, excelled in basketball and football at East Poinsett County High School. He played in 10 games as a backup for the Arkansas basketball team in 2004-05.
The Razorbacks had to replace their top five scorers from last season and are relying a lot on freshmen.
■ Auburn coach Jeff Lebo has signed two post players and two guards for the fall signing period.
The Tigers' fall signing class announced yesterday includes center Robert Chubb and small forward Kenny Gabriel. The guards are Earnest Ross and Andre Malone.
Lebo said the four newcomers will really help the team's shooting at all four positions. He also said he likes the upside potential for each of them.
Gabriel signed with Auburn last year but spent the season at a Texas junior college, averaging 15 points and eight rebounds in the team's first eight games.
Miscellaneous
■ Jim Furyk, in what amounts to a one-week break from his four-month vacation, surprised himself yesterday with a 4-under 68 that gave him a two-shot lead after the first round of the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Furyk hasn't played a competitive round since winning the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda on Oct. 15. After this week, he won't play again until beginning his 2009 season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The entire 16-man field got its feet wet at Sherwood Country Club, which was soggy from a week of cold rain.
Furyk was the only player to break 70 in the opening round, and stranger still was that he failed to birdie any of the five par 5s. But he was the only player to birdie the tough 18th, giving him a two-shot lead over Boo Weekley and K.J. Choi.
Tiger Woods was reduced to his role as tournament host, tucked away in the Sherwood clubhouse in meetings as his guests tried to keep mud off their golf balls.
■ The winner of the Champions League could make up to $160 million in revenues despite the world economic downturn, according to a study released in Brussels, Belgium, yesterday.
Any slip-up in a penalty shootout could cost the losing team up to $56 million -- the likely revenue difference between the winner and loser in the final next May 27 in Rome.
The 16 teams going into today's draw in Nyon, Switzerland, have on average already secured $56.2 million through prize money, tournament commercial revenues, ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandising and increased squad value.
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