Michael Jordan
3 min read
‘Brainwashed for decades’: Michael Jordan’s landmark lawsuit against American sport
NBA icon Michael Jordan is in court as his bitter fight against a major American sport began in a landmark case with millions at stake.
AFP
NBA legend Michael Jordan appeared in a North Carolina courtroom on Monday as his federal anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR got under way with jury selection.
The case, which analysts say could have far-reaching implications for NASCAR if Jordan is successful, accuses the most popular US auto racing circuit of monopolistic practices that stifle competition.
Six-time NBA champion Jordan, who is a co-owner of the 23XI Racing team in NASCAR’s Cup Series, lodged the suit with Front Row Motorsports last year after refusing to sign new NASCAR charters.
The suit accuses NASCAR and the racing circuit’s chief executive Jim France of operating without transparency, stifling competition, and controlling the sport in ways that unfairly benefit them at the expense of team owners, drivers, sponsors, partners and fans.
The teams accuse NASCAR of anti-competitive practices including buying most of the top racetracks exclusive to NASCAR races, imposing exclusivity deals on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks, acquiring stock car competitor Automobile Racing Club of America (AREA), preventing teams from participating in other stock car races and forcing teams to buy their parts from single-source suppliers chosen by NASCAR.
“No other major professional sport in North America is run by a single family that enriches themselves through these kinds of unchecked monopolistic practices,” 23XI and Front Row said in a statement announcing the lawsuit last year.
Jordan’s 23XI and Front Row were the only two NASCAR teams out of 15 who did not sign the new charters at the heart of the dispute.
“Everyone knows that I have always been a fierce competitor and that will to win is what drives me and the entire 23XI team each and every week out on the track,” Jordan added.
“I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans.”
Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, who owns 23XI alongside Jordan and less than a month ago, had the Cup Series championship slip through his fingers, warned this weekend that the gloves will be off during the two-week trial in the Western District of North Carolina.
“Our fans have been brainwashed with (NASCAR’s) talking points for decades,” Hamlin wrote on social media.
“Lies are over starting Monday morning. It’s time for the truth. It’s time for change.
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