Michael Jordan is scheduled to testify Friday in a federal antitrust trial against NASCAR, two people close to the NBA Hall of Famer told NBC News.
The suit, first filed in 2024, has played out in a Charlotte, North Carolina, courtroom since Monday as the Jordan-co-owned 23XI Racing team, along with Front Row Motorsports, seeks to prove its allegations that the stock car circuit is a monopoly that limits individual teams’ revenues and freedom — including requiring all teams to use the same model of car and parts from NASCAR-approved suppliers — by stifling competition.
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NASCAR has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. In October, its commissioner said it was “trying our hardest” to settle the suit, whose discovery has exposed NASCAR’s finances and internal communications. NASCAR was founded in 1948 by Bill France Sr., and the company’s ownership and top leadership remain in the family.
Though best-known for his basketball stardom and once owning the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, Jordan, 62, is also deeply involved in motorsports, and five years ago co-founded 23XI Racing along with a business partner, Curtis Polk, and longtime NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin.
Jordan is expected to testify Friday, although court schedules can change.
Since 2016, NASCAR has operated on a charter system that guarantees 36 teams entry into every race in its top series and shares of revenue. Teams have sought to make charters permanent and to increase the value that comes with owning them. In 2024, NASCAR offered charter-holding racing teams a model for sharing revenues, and while many teams signed the agreement, Jordan’s team and Front Row Motorsports did not. They sued shortly thereafter.
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“I didn’t sign because I knew this was my death certificate for the future,” Hamlin testified this week. “I have spent 20 years trying to make this sport grow as a driver and for the last five years as a team owner. 23XI is doing our part. You can’t have someone treat you this unfairly, and I knew it wasn’t right. They were wrong, and someone needed to be held accountable.”
In its lawsuit, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports called NASCAR “monopolistic bullies” and also took issue with NASCAR’s ownership of the majority of the tracks used in the circuit, as well as the approvals non-NASCAR-owned tracks must earn to host its races.
Jordan has said he elected to take on NASCAR “for the smaller teams, as well; it’s not just for me.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
