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12/05 14:09 CST Michael Jordan testifies in NASCAR antitrust trial, says he had
no choice but to sue
Michael Jordan testifies in NASCAR antitrust trial, says he had no choice but
to sue
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) --- Retired NBA great Michael Jordan took the stand at the
landmark NASCAR antitrust case and testified Friday that he has been a fan of
the stock car series since he was a child but felt he had little choice but to
sue to force changes in a business model he sees shortchanging teams and
drivers risking their lives to keep the sport going.
Jordan testified before a packed courtroom for an hour. His celebrity drew
quips from the judge and even a defense attorney as he outlined why the team he
co-owns, 23XI, had joined Front Row Motorsports in going to court against the
top auto racing series in the United States.
"Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity," the soft-spoken Jordan
told the jury. "I sat in those meetings with longtime owners who were
brow-beaten for so many years trying to make change. I was a new person, I
wasn't afraid. I felt I could challenge NASCAR as a whole. I felt as far as the
sport, it needed to be looked at from a different view."
Jordan's highy anticipated appearance followed dramatic testimony from Heather
Gibbs, the daughter-in-law of race team owner Joe Gibbs, about the chaotic
six-hour period in which teams had to sign an extension or forfeit the charters
that guarantee revenue week to week throughout NASCAR's 38-race season.
"The document was something in business you would never sign," said Heather
Gibbs, who is also a licensed real estate agent. "It was like a gun to your
head: if you don't sign, you have nothing."
Charters are the equivalent of the franchise model used in other sports and in
NASCAR it guarantees every chartered car a spot in every race, plus a defined
payout from the series. The system was created in 2016, and during the two-plus
years of bitter negotiations on an extension teams begged for the renewable
charters to be made permanent for revenue stability.
When NASCAR refused to make them permanent and gave the teams six hours in
September 2024 to sign the 112-page extension, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports
were the only two organizations out of 15 to refuse. They instead filed the
antitrust suit and the trial opened Monday to hear their allegations that
NASCAR is a monopolistic bully. 23XI is co-owned by Jordan and three-time
Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row is owned by fast food franchiser
Bob Jenkins.
Jordan testified that 23XI bought a third charter late in 2024 for $28 million
even with all the uncertainty.
"I'm pretty sure they know I love to win," the six-time NBA champion said.
"Denny convinced me getting a third driver improved our chances to win, so I
dove in."
Like other witnesses this week, Jordan described a NASCAR that refused to
discuss options or potential changes to the charter system, which he supports.
He was asked why 23XI didn't sign the extensions last fall.
"One, I didn't think it was economically viable. Two, it said you could not sue
NASCAR, that was an antitrust violation, I felt. Three, they gave us an
ultimatum I didn't think was fair to 23XI," Jordan said, adding: "I wanted a
partnership and permanent charters wasn't even a consideration. The pillars
that the teams wanted, no one on the NASCAR side even negotiated or
compromised. They were not even open-minded to welcome those conversations, so
this is where we ended up."
Jordan referred to the NBA business model, which shares approximately half its
revenue with players, far more than NASCAR.
"The revenue split was far less than any business I've ever been a part of. We
didn't think we'd ever get to what basketball was getting but we wanted to move
in that direction," he said. "The thing I see in NASCAR that I think is absent
is a shared responsibility of growth as well as loss."
Jordan said he owns 60% of 23XI and has invested $35 millioin to $40 million in
the team. Jenkins testified earlier this week that has never turned a profit
since launching his NASCAR team in the early 2000s and estimates he's lost $100
million even while winning the Daytona 500 in 2021.
Heather Gibbs earlier told the jury how she became co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing
the day after her husband, Coy, unexpectedly died in his sleep the same night
their son, Ty, won NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series championship in 2022.
Coy Gibbs had moved into a leadership role with JGR following the death of his
older brother, J.D., in 2019.
Because Gibbs had lost both his sons and had built the team as a legacy for his
family, his daughter-in-law took an active role in the organization and
personally participated in negotiations for the charter extensions. When NASCAR
made its final offer at 6 p.m. on a Friday night with just hours to sign, the
agreement did not include permanent charters. Gibbs testified the organization
was devastated.
"Everything was going so fast, the legacy of Coy, the legacy of J.D., everyone
at JGR was very upset," she told the jury. She said her father-in-law called
NASCAR chairman Jim France pleading for a resolution.
"Joe said, ?Jim, you can't do this,'" she said. "And Jim was done with the
conversation."
Heather Gibbs said she had to leave to take her son to a baseball game in
Chapel Hill and left worried about her father-in-law, who was 84 at the time.
"I left him sitting in the dark, listening to his blood sugar monitors going
off," she testified. "We decided we had to sign. We can't lose everything. I
did not think it was a fair deal to the teams."
Joe Gibbs is both a Hall of Fame NASCAR owner and NFL Hall of Fame coach. He
led the Washington football team to three Super Bowl titles and JGR has won
five Cup Series championships. JGR has 450 employees, charters for four Cup
cars and relies solely on outside sponsorship and investors to keep the team
afloat. The team will mark its 35th season next year and Gibbs told the jury
that JGR needs permanent charters to protect its investment in NASCAR.
"It's the most important point, a permanent place in their history books," she
testified. "It is absolutely vital to the teams for us to know we have
security, it can't be taken away, to know what we've invested in is ours."
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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