Two stories in this morning's Charlotte paper caught my attention. One story documented the empty campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway that used to be overflowing on Friday of All-Star weekend. The other story informed of a lawsuit filed by a former Charlotte educator against NASCAR Media Group and NASCAR Holdings (among others). The educator was fired after it was discovered she had given NASCAR Media Group permission to film a rap video featuring nearly nude womenin the boy's locker room of the prestigious Providence Day School in Charlotte. Heck, I didn't even know NASCAR was making rap videos. Shows how stupid and uninformed I am. No wonder the campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway are empty. Between Brian's divorce, the rap music business and the crummy racing, who needs a tanked economy and skyhigh fuel prices to explain empty grandstands. Anyway, here's the story about NASCAR's latest lawsuit:
Ex-school official sues over rap video
Says Providence Day wrongly fired her over steamy footage shot there.
By Fred Clasen-Kelly frkelly@charlotteobserver.com Posted: Saturday, May. 21, 2011
Providence Day School, one of Charlotte's top private schools, fired an administrator after a local rapper filmed a racy music video on campus, a lawsuit says. Kathryn Taylor, a 37-year employee, has filed a lawsuit alleging Providence Day wrongly fired her in 2009 and tried to cover up the termination when officials learned the school locker room was used in a video for rapper Bettie Grind. The suit, filed in Mecklenburg Superior Court this month, also names former Providence Day Headmaster John Creeden and NASCAR Holdings and its subsidiary, NASCAR Media Group, as defendants. Providence Day spokeswoman Jennifer Howe declined comment. NASCAR Media produced the music video for Bettie Grind's single "Dammit I'm Fly." The video shows Bettie Grind, whose real name is Greg Brown, rapping in a straitjacket, a woman stripping to her underwear and other scantily-clad women dancing suggestively. Providence Day, in south Charlotte, is a selective K-12 school with a reputation for academic rigor. Some students have apparently seen the video and recognized the school building. "DUDE thats my school!!!," read one comment on YouTube. In June 2009, the suit says, Taylor was working as the school's director of summer programs. The position put her in charge of scheduling campus events during the summer. Representatives from NASCAR Media contacted Taylor about using the boys' locker room as a backdrop for a video the company was making, the suit says. NASCAR Media told Taylor a "higher up" at NASCAR had a child enrolled at Providence Day and suggested the campus for the video, the suit says. Taylor, the suit states, allowed the company to use the locker room for free after it promised to give Providence Day access to NASCAR personnel at a later date. The suit says NASCAR Media assured her the video would not contain "adult content or explicit material." In November 2009, another school administrator approached her about rumors a music video posted on YouTube had been filmed on campus. The video did not follow the script Taylor had read before the filming, the suit alleges. Creeden, then-Providence Day headmaster, fired Taylor on Dec. 7, 2009, the suit claims. Two days later, the suit says Creeden misled the public by announcing Taylor had retired. Creeden wanted to avoid conflict with parents who would have objected to Taylor's dismissal, the suit claims. The suit alleges that Creeden's announcement made it difficult for Taylor to gain employment at other private schools in the Charlotte area. The suit seeks damages in excess of $10,000 from Providence Day, Creeden, NASCAR Holdings and NASCAR Media Group. Reached by phone, Taylor and her attorney, Fenton Erwin, declined comment Friday. NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said the agreement NASCAR negotiated with Taylor did not spell out the contents of the music video. He said the video followed the script NASCAR Media presented to Taylor. Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/21/2313497/ex-school-official-sues-over-rap.html#ixzz1Mzyz9Y3B
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
