Michael Jordan’s 23XI lawsuit against NASCAR had everyone on the edge of their seats as the trial had crazy updates every single day. Reporters swarmed around the NBA legend whenever he entered and left the courtroom. While most of his interactions with the media were quite calm and composed, there was a moment that stood out.

A popular NASCAR insider, who had been covering the story quite intensely, was publicly called out by Jordan as he made his way to the courtroom. But was there a difference in opinion that led to this?

NASCAR insider’s interesting take on Michael Jordan’s behavior towards him

Bob Pockrass has been involved in NASCAR coverage for over three decades now. He has gained a massive social media following owing to his unbiased reporting on the sport and its events. Considering the massive coverage he provided for the antitrust lawsuit, there seemed to be something he wrote that didn’t sit quite well with Michael Jordan.

However, Pockrass was still unaware of the exact story himself as he revealed: “I’m still not exactly sure what I said or what I wrote that he felt like put me on NASCAR side a little bit.”

Even though Jordan called him out publicly, Pockrass still seemed to defend the 62-year-old.

The lawsuit had grown to be massive. There were many people involved, including all the staff at 23XI Racing and FRM. The stakes were high considering this, and, understandably, there might be a difference in opinions, which is exactly what Bob Pockrass feels happened between him and Jordan.

“Emotions are high in this lawsuit,” he explained. “It’s a lot of money for a lot of people. Jordan was risking the future of his team by making this lawsuit. Knowing that he had over a hundred employees counting on him to win this lawsuit or else they were going to have to probably find another job within the next year. So of course emotions are high. And so you kind of expect that at some point that somebody is not going to view things the same way you did.”

Regardless of the small interaction that Jordan and Pockrass shared, the latter remained a strong source of trusted information throughout the trial. The lawsuit came to a settlement between the plaintiffs and the defendants, with the teams seemingly gaining more.

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Pockrass suggests a ‘bruised’ relationship between NASCAR and 23XI representatives

The teams filed the lawsuit back in October 2024, alleging the sport of monopolistic behavior regarding the Charter Agreement and the media share within it. One of their primary relief sought was for the charters to be made permanent.

While this would’ve been like any other lawsuit, Michael Jordan’s mere involvement and presence in the courtroom escalated the matter across different sports.

NASCAR was under scrutiny, and as the trial proceeded, they weren’t left with many options. Eventually, the sport offered a settlement to the teams, and they agreed.

Despite the agreement between them, Pockrass suggests that their relationship will be bruised for the time being. In his column for Fox Sports, he claimed that the sport wasn’t happy with Denny Hamlin (co-owner alongside Jordan) and his statements.

“They didn’t love everything that Hamlin did or said. And obviously they wish they weren’t sued by Jordan, but they probably can see that it came from a love of racing,” he wrote. “They most likely aren’t exchanging any gifts for the holidays. The bruises are going to take time to heal.”

As mentioned, the lawsuit had escalated as it was covered by the media globally. Even though Jordan might not have been the happiest with something that Pockrass wrote, he ended up being the huge gainer in the settlement. NASCAR agreed to make the charters “evergreen,” with other changes in the agreement.