Tyler Reddick finally broke his silence about the Michael Jordan controversy that’s been eating up the internet for two straight days.
The NASCAR driver defended his team owner after a viral video showed Jordan interacting with Reddick’s six-year-old son, Beau, during their Daytona 500 victory celebration Sunday.
The clip has social media users split down the middle about what they saw.
“From my perspective, I’ve gotten to know Michael Jordan and his family very well over the years I’ve been here with 23XI,” Reddick told Stephen A. Smith on SiriusXM. “I don’t see what other people see when it comes to this.”
Reddick’s 23XI Racing team made history Sunday with their first Daytona 500 win. The 30-year-old driver broke a 38-race winless streak and ended a completely winless 2025 season with NASCAR’s biggest prize.
But instead of celebrating the breakthrough moment, everyone’s talking about a 10-second clip from victory lane. The video shows Jordan standing behind young Beau Reddick during the trophy presentation.
Critics claim Jordan was touching the child inappropriately, pointing and pinching at his lower back and leg area. Supporters say it was a harmless celebration between people who know each other well.
What is Michael Jordan doing 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/sVZeTGGgXI
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) February 16, 2026
“For me, it’s a huge moment,” Reddick said. “This is the biggest moment of my career. It’s a huge moment for my family and for his family.”
The controversy exploded across Twitter, Instagram and TikTok within hours of the race ending. Fans threw away Jordan sneakers. Others called for boycotts of his brands.
Even 50 Cent jumped in with disgusted reactions.
Reddick tried dodging TMZ cameras earlier this week. His representative shut down questions with “We’re not going to talk about that.”
But Stephen A. Smith’s interview marked his first substantive response to the backlash.
“I just put that off to the side and think about the look on Yvette’s face,” Reddick said, referring to Jordan’s wife. “And the whole family and his whole group when they got to victory lane too, and just how happy everybody was celebrating together.”
Jordan co-owns 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin and just settled a major antitrust lawsuit with NASCAR in December. Sunday’s win was supposed to validate their racing program after years of legal battles.
Instead, Jordan’s moment of triumph got buried under internet outrage.
