NASCAR Responds To Lawsuit

You probably have read that NASCAR was accused of racial discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliatory termination in a $225 million lawsuit filed by former employee Mauricia Grant.

NASCAR chairman Brian Grant responded to the allegations, saying that when the lawsuit was filed, that represented the first time that NASCAR had heard her complaints.

I am torn on this subject. On one hand, it isn't hard to believe that Ms. Grant may have been subjected to some off-color remarks. On the other, it isn't hard to believe that she participated in the jokes, only to become disgruntled and sue. The truth, as usual, is probably somewhere in the middle.

In total, Ms. Grant alleges fifty-seven specific incidents of mistreatment (23 sexual harassment, 34 racial and gender discrimination). FIFTY-SEVEN!! I can't make myself understand why she would tolerate it for so long, unless she was planning the lawsuit and just gathering ammuntion. I don't think I would put up with that type of treatment for any length of time.

Also, the $225M amount is excessive, in my opinion. That equals over $3.9 million per alleged incident. If the incidents were so bothersome for her that they caused "depression, anxiety, nightmares, sleep disturbance, crying jags, headaches and gastrointestinal distress," I don't understand why she kept going to work.

Don't get me wrong. If NASCAR is found to be at fault, they deserve to be punished. Not to the tune of $225M, but punished severely. The amount requested seems, to me, to be overinflated. I would guess that Ms. Grant and her attorneys aimed high, in order to give themselves plenty of room to come down in a settlement, yet still get a nice dollar amount.

I do NOT think that NASCAR should settle this case out of court. Even if the lawsuit is upheld, NASCAR needs its fans to know that it does not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any sort. In its response, NASCAR claims that several of Ms. Grant's claims are exaggerated, in some cases just plain false.

If NASCAR truly believes that Ms. Grant is not being truthful, the employees accused in the lawsuit deserve their support in court, even if it means taking the risk of losing. Agreeing to a settlement is agreeing to responsibility.

US Open Thoughts

The United States Open begins tomorrow morning at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California.

It promises to be an entertaining tournament, mostly because the kikuyu grass that promises to torment the players. It is a thicker, stronger grass than is normally seen on golf courses, and kikuyu rough at US Open heights could actually be dangerous. It should at least give the course some teeth.

Maybe this year all of the pre-tournament talk about "hacking it 50 yards out of the rough" will actually be true. It seems every year the players and officials talk about how tough the rough will be to hit from, but then you only see a few guys who actually have to really just hack the ball back into the fairway.

Personally, I would prefer the US Open to have thicker, more penal rough, narrower fairways, and not as much length. Torrey Pines is listed at over 7600 yards, even though the USGA says that "most likely" it will play somewhere between 7400 and 7600 (but not over 7600) all four days. The actual length will depend on what they do with a few tee boxes that can be shortened or stretched.

With the length of the course, along with the graduated rough that will be in use, a semi-accurate power hitter will just pound the driver, then take his chances out of the rough. A short hitter has no chance, really, because he has to be in the fairway, and even then he will be hitting fairway woods and long irons into the greens. With today's clubs, a 6- or 7-iron from the rough is just as controllable as a 2-iron from the fairway, so the long hitter isn't really penalized for missing the fairway.

Anyway, the USGA didn't ask my opinion, so on to my "predictions."

Tiger Woods will win. I just can't pick against him. He shouldn't win, because you shouldn't be able to win the US Open when you haven't played competitively since the Masters because of knee surgery. But, he's Tiger Woods, so I won't be surprised if he's right in the thick of things on Sunday afternoon (or night, on the East Coast).

Other than Tiger, I'd probably just use the driving distance statistics to find favorites, then add Stewart Cink and Jim Furyk. Cink and Furyk are not super-long, but they hit the ball fairly straight and putt well. Cink has contended in quite a few Opens, and Furyk has won it. Any one of the long drivers could have a good week on the greens and get lucky, which is basically why Angel Cabrera is the defending champion.

Good luck, gentlemen.

Old Habits

I grew up a Celtics fan. Larry Bird was the main reason why. He was amazing to watch. He wasn't the fastest or strongest player on the court, but he could absolutely dominate a game. Plus, he could take over a game without scoring. His teammates could not afford to sit back and watch him, because the ball may bounce off of their face. Watching Larry Bird and his Boston teams is what made me want to go out in my backyard and practice my jumpshot. He was (and is) my favorite basketball player.

Having said all that, the current version of the NBA Finals stirs up a lot of old feelings. Boston versus the Lakers. It doesn't matter if it's Kobe and Pau instead of Magic and Kareem. It doesn't matter if it's KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen instead of Bird, McHale and Parish. It's still the Lakers versus the Celtics. It's still Showtime versus Fundamentals.

This series is the best thing to happen to the NBA in a long time. Fans that the NBA had lost long ago will tune in to watch the Lakers and the Celtics. It's hard to be ambivalent about this rivalry...people take sides. I am on the Celtics' side, and I have been for as long as I can remember. I probably always will be, I guess.

I am looking forward to a great series, hopefully won by the guys in green. It's not the same as it used to be, because plenty of the players are veterans new to their respective teams, rather than guys with histories in their current cities. That's one of the things that tends to turn people off about the "new" NBA. But, for the next week or two, I don't care about what people say is wrong with the NBA. As long as the Finals are Boston versus LA, the NBA is alright with me.

Go Celtics!

NC State, UNC Reach Super Regionals

Congratulations to the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels on reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Both teams are now just two wins away from a trip to Omaha for the College World Series.

North Carolina will host Coastal Carolina, and NC State will go on the road to face the Georgia Bulldogs.

Best of luck to both teams.

All-Encompassing Update

During the summer, there's not a lot of (ACC) football or basketball news to write about, so rather than driving myself insane trying to find topics, I will just occasionally (or more often, depending on what sparks my interest) weigh in on a few random topics.

JJ Hickson is probably staying in the draft. I don't think he should, but he didn't ask me. He chose not to play at the Orlando pre-draft camp, and wasn't invited for interviews and measurements only. Evidently, he's content with his current draft position...or he thinks he's going to blow the scouts away at his private workout that he will have soon. I believe his best chance of improving his draft stock would have been to go to Orlando and shine against other "wanna be" draftees. However, Sidney Lowe has been around the NBA quite a bit, and if JJ is following his advice, I will easily concede that he's doing the best thing for his particular situation.

The Danny Green saga is very interesting. Apparently, as long as the NBA doesn't specifically tell Mr. Green to pull out of the draft, he is going to stay in it. Tar Heel Fan has all of the UNC/NBA draft news anyone could need, including a couple of articles about Danny Green. It seems that being in prison made Danny Sr. an expert on the intricacies of the NBA draft process.

Football is only a few months away!!!

The United States Open is basically two weeks away. My early prediction: Tiger Woods wins! How's that for going out on a limb? I'll step out a little farther...Tiger will finish at -2, and will be the only golfer in red figures. Plenty of people will be predicting that someone other than Tiger will win, citing his long layoff for knee surgery. I say he will win, because he always wins at Torrey Pines. Also, in 2002, he missed quite a bit of time because of a similar knee surgery, and he won his first tournament back that year, as well. Where was that tournament played?? Yep..Torrey Pines.

Well, that's it for now. Check back soon for another all-encompassing update!

Golf Tournament!!!

Agape Kure Beach Ministries, a Lutheran organization that provides lots of educational opportunities for today's youth, is having a golf tournament in October. I played last year, and can tell you that it is an extremely well-run event, on a very well-maintained golf course (Echo Farms in Wilmington, NC).

I am not affiliated with the tournament (other than being Lutheran and supportive of AKB), but anyone who wishes to participate can either click the link above or email me with any questions. I will get them answered, even if I have to contact someone else!

I Agree With Gregg Doyel

I just felt like that should be the title of this entry.

It doesn't happen very often.

Anyway, Doyel's column about the death of Eight Belles just after the Kentucky Derby this past weekend was 100% correct. It is sad how many horses are sacrificed for the entertainment of a relatively small number of people.

Can you imagine if human athletes were treated the same way?

"LeBron James sprained his ankle in the second quarter of today's game, and had to be put down. He was replaced in the second half by......"