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Sometimes, things are precisely what they appear to be. (See United States v. Michael Vick.) Sometimes, they're not. (See Overzealous, Attention-Craving Activists v. Duke Lacrosse.)

So in the spirit of our society's newfound interest in fairness, let's heed the caution flag in Mauricia Grant's $225 million litigation against NASCAR. The federal courts will assess the merit in the 43-page, 10,424-word denunciation and will proceed accordingly.

Regardless of what a judge or jury will accept, ignore or toss out altogether, Grant's filing in New York has given CEO Brian France a wonderful opportunity take at least one corrective action: Ban the Confederate flag. Heck, he can even burn it at some dude's infield barbecue for all I care. A hearty meal of pork shoulder, stars and bars would hit the spot.

Just make sure fans can no longer bring the symbol into tracks conducting NASCAR events.

The whole "Heritage, Not Hate" rhetoric is so old by now that some put the flag on public display to wield a weapon of backlash. Years ago, some people started bringing the symbol to races. Then others dissented. And now we're seeing the opposition to the opposition. (At the University of Mississippi, one researcher chronicled an obvious increase in the number of flags flown outside the football stadium in the immediate aftermath of a policy forbidding their presence inside the gates.)

As for NASCAR, a ban might even put some fuel in the tank of the organization's alleged "Drive For Diversity," which so far has as much movement as rush hour in Boston.

For years, the Frances have been the French on this topic; they've thrown up their hands and claimed they can't do anything about it. One common line of reasoning says the First Amendment gets in the way. This is false. It's the argument made by people who place "I Support Our Troops" bumper stickers on their cars but can't name more than three freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.

The First Amendment is a contract between the government and its citizens that begins with the phrase "Congress shall make no law" and continues from there. It doesn't necessarily enforce every segment of conduct in society. NASCAR is a private organization and, as such, has the right to regulate some aspects of its consumers' behavior -- just as a restaurant can refuse service to a nudist who claims freedom from clothing is his freedom of speech.

Just as a black-owned "soul food" restaurant can order a clown in a Klan outfit to leave the premises.

There's precedent here. After its fans ignored genteel requests, Ole Miss was forced to go to court to prevent them from bringing the flag and flagpole into the football stadium. The school won when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling issued in 1999 that upheld the ban on safety grounds.

NASCAR has also dodged the question by claiming "tracks' rights." Owners of each venue regulate what can and cannot be brought inside the gates. The governing body has no authority here, they say. (Slightly refreshing change: At least NASCAR is passing the buck instead of keeping it.)

Again, this is a cop-out. If the organization can require tracks to install SAFER walls -- which it has -- it can surely get involved in the flag flap. It's quite simple: If you don't comply with NASCAR policies, you can't host one of their events.

But NASCAR hasn't been willing to alienate its core fan base, which may not be quite as erudite as all the demographic studies suggest. The organization wants it both ways. It wants to be praised for spending money on minority development, but it doesn't want to take a practical stand that would put its mouth where its money is.

Of course, the drivers could take the wheel on this one, but they have been uniformly reluctant -- and that's a nice word -- to discourage their supporters from waving the Rebel flag.

A Yahoo! Sports column by Dan Wetzel articulated this point two years ago. No other sport has the sort of "brand loyalty" seen in NASCAR, which is another way of saying NASCAR fans buy whatever their favorite driver tells them to.

The opportunity is there. The silence is telling.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels @news-record.com