For Michael Jordan, it became personal and now NASCAR may be changed forever

In “The Last Dance,” the ESPN documentary about the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan never actually said, “And I took it personally.” This sentence is meme-worthy, but Jordan didn’t say it.

What Jordan really said was, “This has become personal to me.” It may be a small difference, but the actual quote matters more.

Read again: “It became personal to me.” Instead of just saying I’m offended by thiscontext translates more into You have now entered a different territory. You awakened something in me.

Even the most casual sports fan knows that this is quite terrifying in the case of Michael Jordan – a man who would rather take medication every day for the rest of his life than lose anything. What if someone thinks they can make Jordan look like a fool by beating him? Buckle up.

Somewhere between the lines of the 46-page antitrust lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court, that message was sent loud and clear. Less than a month ago, it appeared that NASCAR had essentially won its long charter battle with race teams, convincing 13 of 15 owners to sign new contracts. Jim France, the 79-year-old chairman and CEO of NASCAR and a member of the founding family, seemed destined to succeed with his old-school approach, although many were initially skeptical of his methods.

Owners had been making waves for more than two years and complaining about the terms of the deal, upset with how NASCAR had used a divide-and-conquer strategy instead of treating them as a group. Ultimately, however, France held steady and used the weight of NASCAR to strengthen the teams. When the deadline was set, almost everyone lined up and signed.

Jordan’s 23XI Racing, along with Front Row Motorsports, suddenly found themselves in isolation. Powerful team owners like Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske left their rivals to fend for themselves and apparently had no leverage to do anything about it.

Jordan’s team ended up being the biggest losers after making the most noise while looking stupid for accomplishing nothing.

“Do they really think they will get a better deal by dragging this out?” one of the band’s directors sneered.

Is it possible that with all that is known about Jordan, he was still underrated? If so, this looks like a serious miscalculation. Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, NASCAR has a serious case on its hands, brought by the same lawyer – Jeffrey Kessler – responsible for changing the landscape in other major professional sports (as well as college athletics).

For now, it is hard to believe that this situation will actually be resolved by the courts. NASCAR and France would have to completely open their books, making financial records available to the public that would give a first-of-its-kind look behind the curtain at how money actually flows through big league stock car racing. After all, it’s more likely that NASCAR and the teams will come to an agreement, perhaps addressing some of the key issues that were dropped or ignored during the negotiations (or lack thereof, if you ask the owners).

Either way, the lawsuit threatens NASCAR’s virtual undefeated streak in cases like this. NASCAR has always triumphed when challenged, and the French family’s ability to maintain power and control has been passed down and practiced over many generations. This created an aura that competing with NASCAR in any meaningful way would always end badly, which was largely accepted by garage workers as a cost of doing business.

It’s entirely possible that could happen again now, with NASCAR emerging unscathed. Perhaps the courts will disagree with 23XI and Front Row, or perhaps there is no other path to a reasonable settlement other than a few minor concessions that allow both sides to declare victory and move on. Perhaps it is enough to simply increase transparency on both sides; while we don’t know the top-secret details of NASCAR’s finances, we haven’t seen the teams’ books either (beyond their constant claims that they’re losing money or barely breaking even).

Both sides should show where the money is going, and that can help the sport more than anything else. Is it really the France family that is greedy and keeps most of the income for themselves? Or maybe some bands cry that they are weak, but at the same time they generate a lot of money? Until this transparency is realized, it is unlikely that both sides will ever get on the same page.

This suit could be the catalyst. The longer this goes on, the greater the chance that this legal action will bring significant, unprecedented changes to NASCAR. Jordan probably won’t settle for anything less.

“We can’t make a specific statement: ‘This is enough.’ There has to be significant change,” said Kessler, the lawyer. “No one is starting this type of fight, this type of lawsuit, to go from a D-plus (grade) contract to a D contract. It’s not going to happen.”

And make no mistake: While 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin and Front Row’s Bob Jenkins are fully committed, it’s unlikely all of this would have happened without Jordan.

If Hamlin was on his own, could he really look at the prospect of losing nearly $100 million in charters and not blink an eye? Without 23XI, would Jenkins really be a lone defender among team owners and take NASCAR to court himself?

It is impossible to imagine the various consequences that may accompany a successful process. Would NASCAR be forced to sell its tracks? Will teams be partners in the league like the owners of the NFL and NBA?

If the teams ultimately prevail or at least initiate a significant change in the way the Cup Series operates – making stock car racing more lucrative and thus attracting further investment – it would somehow only enrich Jordan’s sporting legacy. Not only would he be a transformative figure in basketball, but he would be credited with something that would have been unthinkable even five years ago: being the figure who helped change the face of NASCAR forever.

(Top photo of Michael Jordan: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)