Long writes better’n this. Prolly typed it out on the airplane. The judge doesn’t appear ta be overly impressed with NASCAR.
Article from the Virginian Pilot
Scenes from court as Mayfield wins injunction
It's been a crazy day off the track for NASCAR with a federal judge ruling to grant Jeremy Mayfield's request for an injunction to allow him to compete again for the first time in Cup since series officials indefinitely suspended him May 9 for a failed drug test.
I was at court for most of it today (full disclosure -- I had to leave before the judge's verdict to catch a plane to get to Daytona but was there for the arguments for both sides)
It didn't surprise me when I found out the judge granted Mayfield's injunction. I kind of got that sense that the judge was searching for a way to grant it based on the questions he asked lawyers for both sides.
He asked very few questions of Mayfield's lawyer, Bill Diehl. if you've never seen this guy, he's in his 50s rotund and his this shock of long yellow hair. He has a flair for the dramatics in court and even had some in attendance laughing or snickering at some of his comments during his 45-minute presentation. i'll get to a few things in a bit.
Back to the judge. When it was the turn of NASCAR's attorneys to talk, the judge pressed them hard on questions.
At one point, Helen Maher was addressing the court for NASCAR when judge Graham Mullen asked her about the limitation on the discretion NASCAR had in determing what violates its Substance Abuse Policy. Maher's response wandered a bit and Mullen stopped her and said: "That's not a response. If you're answer is none, step up and own it.''
Ouch.
Later, the judge questioned another NASCAR attorney to ask what someone could do in regard to a false positive test. And when Mayfield's lawyer, Diehl, had a chance for rebuttal, the judge asked Diehl what the North Carolina statue said about such a circumstance and Diehl read a portion that he said addressed the matter and stated that showed Mayfield should be allowed to compete again.
At issue, in a way, was NASCAR's power. The Substance Abuse Policy, some would suggest, is over the top, in not having a list of banned substances and that makes it too open-ended. Diehl argued that in theory NASCAR could stated that drinking too much Coca-Cola or coffee or orange juice could violate the policy.
After my plane landed in Florida, I called Charles Yesalis, an authority on performance-enhancing drugs. I talked to him last fall when NASCAR announced its revised policy calling for random drug testing, but the big issue that day in September in Dover was that there was no list of banned substances. Yesalis told me that day: "This is really bad. If I were a driver and got caught, I'd hire me a real big-time lawyer and say, "Make mince-meat of it.''
So when I talked to Yesalis today he remained adament that NASCAR have a list of banned substances -- Yesalis admits he's not aware of any pro league without such a list other than NASCAR. Yesalis said the sport could put together a list of banned substances and do what many other leagues and add a clause that says "and related substances.''
It will be interesting to see what comes out of the Substance Abuse Policy, if anything, after this. Remember, this is just an injunction, there's still a whole court case to settle so this isn't over.
As for Diehl, at one point he addressed the judge and said: "It's July 4th weekend. Somehow that rings true as I talk to you and ask you to correct a wrong. Independence Day for Jeremy ought to be today.''
Another time, Diehl said that according to the drug test that Mayfield had enough meth in him at the time of the test that Mayfield would have been "either a walking zombie or he's dead.''
About NASCAR and its actions, Diehl said: "(Mayfield) has been arrested, if you will. He has been tried ... and he has been convicted.''
As for NASCAR lawyers, here's some of what they said:
Helen Maher: "If Mr. Mayfield is allowed to race after testing positive for meth, who will protect the public, who will protect the drivers? He tested positive for an illegal drug and endangered the lives of all around him. (at this point, mayfield's wife, sitting in the gallery, shakes her head -- which she did often as Maher talked).
Later, Maher said: "Mr. Diehl told an interesting story. I was entertained by it, but you come into federal court you need facts ... and he has none.''
And she said: "NASCAR has a duty ot prevent (Mayfield) from injuring anyone at a NASCAR event.''
Bill Diehl said on Sirius Speedway -- Dave Moody's show on Sirius Satellite Radio -- that he wasn't sure if Mayfield could be ready to compete at Daytona now that he's eligible. Diehl suggested it might take until next week at Chicagoland Speedway before Mayfield returned. We'll see.
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