Basketball legend and 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan found himself at the center of a heated courtroom battle this week, as an antitrust lawsuit challenging NASCAR’s charter system exposed raw exchanges between team owners and league executives.
According to a statement in the court filings, Jordan did not hold back when addressing frustrations over NASCAR’s approach to team agreements. In private texts with business partner Curtis Polk, he used disparaging language toward rival teams that had already signed onto NASCAR’s charter renewal. He also insisted, “Teams are going to regret not joining us,” highlighting his dissatisfaction with the structure he believes restricts competition.
Jordan further dismissed financial concerns, comparing potential losses in racing to casual losses at a casino. These exchanges, per statement in the documents, underscore his belief that the system unfairly pressures teams to conform rather than compete on equal footing.
Read more: NASCAR Blames Teams, Not Antitrust Issues, in Charter Fight
NASCAR’s own communications reflected similar tension. In one email cited in the lawsuit, Commissioner Steve Phelps reportedly slammed certain charter proposals as delivering “zero wins for the teams,” warning that failure to address inequities would leave the organization “f—ed moving forward.”
Meanwhile, NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell described a draft agreement in terms that suggested a regression in governance. Per statement in the filings, he referred to it as a “dictatorship” model, bluntly adding, “f–k the teams, dictatorship,…redneck, southern, tiny sport.”
The remarks from both sides highlight the sharp divide over how NASCAR manages its competitive and financial framework.
Source: Marca