In a story first reported by Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press, we learned that NASCAR has been secretly fining drivers who make public comments critical of the sport. While the drivers’ names have not been made public, Fryer describes them as “stars” and states that one such fine was $50,000.

As a big fan of Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, my initial reaction was to climb on my First Amendment soapbox and lambaste NASCAR for muzzling their drivers. As my reactive ire gave way to clearer reasoning, however, I realized that David Stern of the NBA and Roger Goodell of the NFL are as fine happy as they come.

There is a noteworthy difference between those leagues and NASCAR, however. The stick-and-ball sports operate under the auspices of a collective bargaining agreement. Their competitors are members of labor unions and have a process whereby they can appeal fines levied against them. NASCAR ... not so much.

Another major difference between NASCAR and its professional sports brethren is that, to my knowledge, Stern and Goodell have not proclaimed a desire to have their players’ personalities and emotion come through. If anything, they probably wish that their players displayed a little less “personality”.

From NASCAR’s preseason media tour in January of this year:

Mike Helton – “What we are encouraging the competitors to do... is for their character and their personality, within reason, to be unfolded.” (Way to leave yourself some wiggle-room with the whole “within reason” thing, Mike.)

Brian France – “We want to see the emotion of the world’s best drivers just as much as everybody else does, and that’s the goal for 2010 and beyond.”

Let the cries of hypocrisy begin. Cries that NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston is quick to repudiate in Fryer’s article. “It is the sanctioning body’s obligation on behalf of the industry and our fans to protect the sport’s brand,” Poston said. “Any action taken by NASCAR has nothing to do with the drivers expressing an opinion—it’s focused on actions or comments that materially damage the sport.

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Poston must have spent many years at cosmetology school to be able to split hairs that finely. Let’s just say that describing the fines as having “nothing to do with the drivers expressing an opinion ...” seems a little disingenuous on his part.

Is NASCAR so weak that they can’t weather a little criticism? Ironically, they actually weaken their position by trying to quash it. Yet, if a driver publicly questions the sanctioning body’s integrity, I can see a valid argument that such statements could “materially damage the sport.” Even if we are willing to concede his point, there remains something troubling about this revelation.

NASCAR’s ongoing lack of transparency fuels the talk of “Big Brother” and provides fodder to the conspiracy theorists. Why wouldn’t they issue a statement that a fine has been levied for the following specific reasons? The secrecy is troubling and gives the impression that something more heavy-handed is at work. A press release would have the added benefit of clarifying where the ‘line thou shalt not cross’ actually sits.

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Inconsistency doesn’t help matters. @CopaCavanna said to me via Twitter, “it's just odd that NASCAR is silent on these fines, but open about drug tests and cheating penalties. What's the difference?” I can only assume the difference is that NASCAR doesn’t want a public announcement to give the offending statements greater shelf life.

While that sort of bad P.R. may be unwelcome, it’s got to be better than the black eye they’re nursing this morning.

Bass Masters and Buzz Cutler are co-hosts of Rowdy.com. For the best NASCAR community on the internet go to Rowdy.com.

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