The iconic National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, has been accused of intentionally discriminating against White men through its efforts to hire more “diverse” drivers and pit crew workers.
As reported by the New York Post, a petition was filed on Thursday by America First Legal (AFL), the conservative legal group run by former Trump Administration advisor Stephen Miller, calling for an investigation into NASCAR by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The petition accuses NASCAR of “illegal discrimination against White, male Americans.”
“This illegal activity should not be permitted to continue,” said AFL senior counsel Nick Barry in a statement. “NASCAR shouldn’t be picking drivers based on their race and sex, but on their ability to drive. All racial discrimination is wrong, even if it is the in-vogue ‘social justice’ cause of the day.”
The group is arguing that NASCAR, along with Rev Racing – a group which actively supports diversification efforts in NASCAR – is violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through such initiatives as its “Diversity Driver Development Program,” the “Diversity Pit Crew Development Program,” and “NASCAR Diversity Internship Program.”
All three programs originally stated that their intentions were to hire more women and non-White ethnic groups, but updated their descriptions on September 1st to instead say that they were in pursuit of “diverse backgrounds and experiences.”
The AFL petition says that the programs’ original language restricted applications to “female[s] or member[s] of one or more of the following ethnic minority classifications: American Indian, Alaskan Native or of native/indigenous descent, Asian or Pacific Islander; Black or African-American; Latino or Hispanic.”
“NASCAR’s and Rev Racing’s commitment to race and sex-based hiring has not wavered,” the petition continues. “The website changes described above seem to have been designed only to conceal their ongoing, deliberate and illegal discrimination against white, male Americans.”
AFL’s petition is the latest example of such action being taken against racially-selective programs in major corporations throughout the United States in the aftermath of two landmark Supreme Court cases which ended the practice of affirmative action in colleges and universities. Although those two rulings were limited to institutions of higher education, many legal groups have cited the court’s language in addressing similar racial application practices in corporations and other entities not covered by the original rulings.