• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

NASCAR to Review Harassment Claims

Posted on: Thursday, 12 June 2008, 06:00 CDT

By Gary Graves

If former technical inspector Mauricia Grant complained about sexual and racial harassment to supervisors, NASCAR chairman Brian France said he finds it "disappointing" the organization didn't know about it until being hit with a lawsuit Tuesday.

That response is representative of what Grant had to overcome in her almost three years as NASCAR's first and only black female inspector, her attorneys said Wednesday.

"They're not saying that it didn't happen, just that it wasn't reported," said Benedict Morelli of Morelli Ratner PC in New York. "If they're going to be saying that kind of stuff, I want to see them prove it."

France said NASCAR would review Grant's claims of sexual and racial harassment and discrimination by white officials while working for the Nationwide Series from January 2005 until being fired in October. Nationwide director Joe Balash, her supervisor, is among 22 defendants named in the lawsuit, which, as filed, asks for $225 million in damages but which Grant's attorneys say is for $250 million.

"The disappointing thing is, she makes a lot of claims. None of them are reported," the Greensboro (N.C.) News and Record reported France said at an appearance in Concord, N.C. "It's inconsistent with anything of our policies and how we operate. ... If those type of things were, in fact, going on, we would have loved to have been able to do an investigation and review of such an allegation. And we'll still do that because now she has made these claims."

France said Grant should have followed the "very clear path" to get problems solved, including going to human resources. Morelli responded, "Balash was her supervisor, and there was no HR office at the track."

Grant, in a teleconference Wednesday, said she did inform management, starting with "my immediate supervisor(s), either Alan Shepard or Dennis Dillon, and moved to Mike Dolan and then after that it was Joe Balash. After that the next level would be to contact (HR). ... And when I complained to Joe Balash about the things done, two weeks later I got a call from (HR) reprimanding me for my poor work performance. ... It was obviously a retaliatory reprimand, and two months after that I was fired."

NASCAR's denial didn't surprise Morelli.

"This is what I told Mauricia to expect and why things are detailed in the report," Morelli said. "This is only Round1. Round2 is building a case against her credibility and character that makes her the victim again. They're plotting their next story."

Former NASCAR official Mike Wilford, named in the lawsuit, told the Associated Press he was present for many of the incidents described in detail and said Grant "twisted" events. He added she never complained to him about how she was treated.

"Graphic and lewd jokes? She participated in them. She laughed. She would never say it was inappropriate," Wilford said.

The lawsuit alleged Wilford showed Grant some loose diamonds and rubies and offered them to her if she would be his mistress. "Yes, I made the joke, but it was a joke because (Grant) used to go around telling everyone she wanted to marry a rich man and be a kept woman," Wilford said.

Grant repudiated that to the AP: "He was persistent about asking if I would be his mistress." Morelli added, "Here's a married guy with kids who tried to give jewelry to my client to get her to sleep with him. ... This guy doesn't want me getting his deposition and looking into his background to find out he's lying."

Source: USA TODAY

More News in this Category