Why Michael Jordan is suing NASCAR

Basketball legend Michael Jordan is currently fighting against the most important competitive sports league in America, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, higher often called NASCAR.

Jordan’s 23XI racing team, together with fellow racing team Front Row Motorsports, are suing the organization over what they are saying are recent “anti-competitive” terms.

Looking to further diversify his sports portfolio, the previous Chicago Bulls star joined the league in 2020 by starting his own team November 23. One of the drivers is the famous black racing driver Bubba Wallace.

When 23XI joined the league, it signed terms initially established in 2016. However, two years ago, NASCAR made changes to the terms which might be scheduled to enter effect in 2025; each teams didn’t agree with the brand new provisions, This was reported to AP News.

On Wednesday, October 2, 23 November and Front Row Motorsports announced filing a joint antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France.

In a joint statement, the racing teams said: “We are united by our passion for racing, the thrill of competing and winning. Off the racetrack, we share the belief that change is necessary in the sport we love. Together, we brought this antitrust case so that racing can thrive and become a more competitive and fair sport in a way that benefits teams, drivers, sponsors and, most importantly, fans.”

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23XI and Front Row Motorsports say the French family “operates without transparency, has stifled competition and controls the sport.”

The antitrust practices at issue include the takeover of a lot of the nation’s top racetracks; imposing exclusivity agreements on NASCAR-sanctioned racetracks; The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is NASCAR’s only significant competitor within the stock automotive racing series; prohibiting teams from racing in other standard races; and forcing teams to purchase parts from single-source suppliers.

The statement further emphasized that no other sport in North America is run by a single family that “gets rich from these types of unchecked monopolistic practices.”

“We desire a fair deal, but it surely wasn’t fair. It didn’t just put it together for me. This is for everybody,” Jordan said in an interview Athlete.

After NASCAR failed to deal with each teams’ concerns, each refused to sign the updated terms. Jordan explained that he saw a lawsuit because the only possible solution.

“I wouldn’t have signed up if I didn’t believe we could win,” Jordan added.

According to court documents obtained by The Athletic, 23XI and Front Row will file a motion for a preliminary injunction in federal court later this week.