deals with NBC, TBS, and the FOX network in 1999. International broad- cast deals would follow a few years later. Prior to that, television networks struck individual deals with track owners, with as many as six networks broadcasting at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race during the season. “At that time, NASCAR was grow-
ing very quickly,” says Tate. “I knew that I’d have an opportunity to grow with the company; I knew that I wouldn’t be hitting a ceiling anytime soon.” And indeed, Tate has grown with
the company. In 2011, Tate was the lead attorney for negotiations that resulted in NASCAR regaining control of its digital rights in 2013. More recently, in 2012, Tate also managed the legal negotiations for the renewal of NASCAR’s broadcast agreement with FOX. Both moves were important for NASCAR, fans, track partners, race teams, and the industry as a whole. “[Tshneka’s] willingness and ability to go where the company needed her to go and to focus and learn whatever area of the business needed attention gave NASCAR a trusted inside counselor throughout many periods of unex- pected growth and strain,” says Karen Leetzow, NASCAR vice president and deputy general counsel. “Tshneka came to NASCAR
with no prior sports, entertainment, or intellectual property experience but she was armed with an outgoing personality, a desire to learn, and an incredible work ethic. With those assets, she was able to transform her- self into a world-class media lawyer.” Growing up in Charlotte (North
Carolina’s largest city), it felt like a small town, says Tate. “It wasn’t until much later that its now imposing sky- line sprung up. My parents wanted me to be prepared for the best professional opportunities possible in Charlotte and beyond. In our house, not doing well in school wasn’t an option.” Her mother worked two jobs to ensure that Tate could attend one of the best private schools in Charlotte, position- ing her to excel there and attend the
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University of Pennsylvania and Florida State University College of Law. “As a kid, I knew lawyers and
doctors made money,” says Tate. “I couldn’t see myself cutting people, so I figured medicine was out. Because I was good at math and science my mother suggested I should try to be an engineer. But no, I was determined to be a lawyer.” Te day Tate interviewed with
NASCAR in March 2000 was especially stressful. Not because she was unprepared: Tate had exhaustively researched NASCAR and auto rac- ing—two subjects she had previously known absolutely nothing about—and was feeling confident, but that par- ticular morning multiple flights from Baltimore, where she worked at the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, to the company’s Charlotte office were cancelled, postponing her morning interview until that evening. “Quickly, my main concern became just getting there,” Tate recalls. “But what began as a really nerve-wracking experience turned out to be the best thing ever.” Previously unexposed to licensing
matters, Tate was quickly smitten with her new practice area. “It sounds a little corny but I absolutely loved working with trademarks in sponsorship and licensing. And interestingly, it was the one IP-related class in law school that I didn’t take. When I started at NASCAR, I fully embraced it and became really nerdy about it; I still am. I never thought it would take me to the media side. When asked if I wanted the opportunity to manage the media side of the legal department, I was pleased to take it. Every now and then I miss the pure sponsorship side, but some- times I still get to dabble in it.” A huge sports fan, Tate had devised
a five-year plan while still in law school: She would get in the door somewhere and learn as much about antitrust as possible. Ten she would go to work for a professional sports team, like the Washington Redskins or Philadelphia 76ers (her favorites), or a league like the NFL or NBA. “Te plan was
right on schedule. I was hired at the attorney general’s office in Maryland, and worked toward moving into its antitrust division. But after only one year of being there, I was asked to interview with NASACAR,” she says. “With NASCAR continuing, then, to grow as a nationally and internation- ally-renowned sports organization, that worked perfectly for me.” After a month on the job, Tate
attended her first NASCAR race. “Despite all I’d read, I really didn’t know what to expect,” she says, “but once at the track, any notions I had that auto racing was not a real sport were quickly dispelled.” She realized that racing requires
strength, endurance, stamina, and agility, of both the driver and the team members. “It’s not easy to hold a steer- ing wheel at 180 mph for four hours without power steering, sometimes in the heat of July in Florida without air conditioning while wearing a fire suit,” she says. “My second year at NASCAR I remember [well-known, winning driver] Tony Stewart raced in Indianapolis and was then helicoptered to Charlotte to race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race later that same day. Tat takes immense determination and pure athleticism.” Traveling to tracks across the country
(NASCAR is by no means confined to the south), Tate notes an increase in diversity among fans in the stands. “We know we have a way to go but we’re committed,” says Tate, citing NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program dedicated to building and integrating minority and women drivers in the sport as well as a NASCAR diversity intern- ship program as strong examples. NASCAR has been Tate’s profes-
sional home for essentially her entire career. She threw herself wholly into the job and unwittingly became a trailblazer in the process. “Te roar of the engines and the screaming crowds—it’s one of the loudest things ever. But I never wear earplugs. My feeling is, as long as I’m there, I want to get the full effect.” D&B
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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