NASCAR removed a racial requirement on their “diversity internship program” that discriminated against white applicants following a report from The Daily Wire.
The stock car racing giant required applicants for an internship program to be a member of specified non-white “minority classifications,” but that provision was removed after experts told The Daily Wire it was “blatantly illegal” discrimination.
“Be a member of one or more of the following races/ethnic minority classifications: Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Latino or Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander,” read the requirement, which no longer appears on the job post.
Screenshot of NASCAR’s “Diversity Internship Program”
NASCAR did not respond to a request for comment.
David Bernstein, a professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law, told The Daily Wire that the requirement was “blatantly illegal,” explaining that it would “seem to violate Title VII and the 1866 Civil Rights Act.” He said a potential applicant who was unable to apply on the basis of his or her race would have legal standing to sue NASCAR.
Though NASCAR amended the internship requirements, the racing league still has other diversity programs that seem to discriminate on the basis of race.
The internship was part of a larger campaign called “drive for diversity,” which also includes the “driver development program” and the “pit crew development program.”
The two programs are available for “top minority and female drivers” and for “aspiring minority and female pit crew members,” respectively. The programs remain unchanged.
The program requirements stipulate that participants must either be female or a “member of one or more … ethnic minority classifications,” which includes African American, Asian, Hispanic or Latino, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and two or more races.