Miami (AFP) – NBA legend Michael Jordan appeared in a North Carolina courtroom on Friday, testifying that he wanted to “push NASCAR to be better” through his anti-trust lawsuit against the popular US auto racing series. Jordan, who is a co-owner of the 23XI Racing team in NASCAR’s elite Cup Series, lodged the suit with Front Row Motorsports last year after refusing to sign new NASCAR charters.
On Friday, he told a federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, that he’d been a fan of NASCAR since he was a child, but felt he had no choice but to sue in a bid to change a business model that treats teams and drivers unfairly. “They don’t have partnerships, they have contractors,” Jordan testified of NASCAR’s relationship with its Cup teams. “I want to push NASCAR to be better. When you talk about charters, when you talk about partnership, that’s ideal.”
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The lawsuit 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 and imposing exclusivity deals on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks. It additionally lists practices such as acquiring stock car competitor Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), preventing teams from participating in other stock car races, and forcing teams to buy their parts from single-source suppliers chosen by NASCAR.
Analysts say the lawsuit could have far-reaching implications for NASCAR, but the tone in the courtroom on Friday was cordial, and even lighthearted at times. One attorney representing NASCAR thanked Jordan, a six-time NBA champion, for making his 9-year-old son think his father was “pretty cool today.” Jordan responded with a smile and suggested that effect could be enhanced by a pair of signature sneakers. “I see you’re not wearing your Jordans today,” he said.
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