Michael Jordan is desperate to move on from the controversy surrounding his ‘innocent and playful’ celebration with NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick’s six-year-old son, Beau, after their Daytona 500 win on Sunday.
The NBA icon was on the podium celebrating his team’s greatest success when he was caught on camera appearing to grab at the young child’s lower back and bottom area.
Critics on social media questioned why he did so, but Jordan’s defenders believed he was simply trying to remove ice that had fallen down Beau’s shirt during the wild celebrations.
The Daily Mail contacted Jordan’s representatives, NASCAR and 23XI Racing for comment on Monday but has had no response.
The clip went viral on social media and some users were quick to criticize Jordan’s actions.
But Daily Mail has now been told that Jordan’s actions were definitely not sinister and he was just being ‘playful’.
Michael Jordan is desperate to move on from the controversy surrounding his ‘innocent and playful’ celebration with NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick’s six-year-old son, Beau
The NBA icon has been criticized for the way he celebrated his team’s Daytona 500 victory
Jordan appeared to grab at the lower back and bottom area of Tyler Reddick’s son Beau, six
A source told Daily Mail: ‘Look, it’s not the most ideal situation for Michael to be in but everyone on the team is looking at it as a playful gesture and nothing more nefarious.
‘Tyler doesn’t have any issue with it and everyone hopes it just goes away and can be looked upon as nothing more than innocent and playful.
‘Michael will not be making a habit of doing this in future after all the furor. It was meant as nothing more than playful.
‘He hopes everyone can celebrate the big win and not try to turn this incident into something more than it needs to be.’
It comes after Reddick finally addressed the moment in an interview with Stephen A. Smith on Tuesday.
He said: ‘From my perspective, I’ve gotten to know Michael and his family very well over the years I’ve been here with 23XI, and I don’t see what other people see when it comes to this. For me, it’s a huge moment; this is the biggest moment of my career.
‘It’s a huge moment for my family and for his family, and I just put that off to the side and think about the look on (Michael Jordan’s wife) Yvette’s face and the whole family and his whole group when they got to victory lane too, and just how happy everybody was celebrating together. So, that’s where I’m at with it.’
The incident threatened to spoil what was otherwise a brilliant day for Jordan and his 23XI Racing team.
The NBA Hall of Famer bear-hugged Reddick in the victory lane and then jointly hoisted the Harley J. Earl trophy with the 23XI Racing driver.
Jordan, who turns 63 on Tuesday, will get a Daytona 500 ring for his birthday and made it known in victory lane that he wears a size 13. ‘It feels like I won a championship, but until I get my ring, I won’t even know,’ Jordan said.
The NBA icon bear-hugged Reddick and then they jointly hoisted the Harley J Earl trophy
Reddick, pictured with wife Alexa DeLeon, refused to discuss the incident in New York Tuesday
Reddick, in a Toyota, led only one lap Sunday: the one to the checkered flag. He was the 25th different driver to lead a lap for a new Daytona 500 record.
Winless last year, Reddick was primarily focused on his infant son, Rookie, after he was found to have a tumor in his chest that affected his heart.
Jordan was the face of the December federal antitrust lawsuit that his and another team brought against NASCAR that settled on the ninth day of trial. The settlement changed the revenue-sharing model in the United States’ top motorsports series.
Jordan watched the win from a suite overlooking the superspeedway built by the France family – NASCAR founders and private owners – that he just beat in federal court. NASCAR chairman Jim France, who was personally a defendant in the suit, went to victory lane to congratulate the winners.
‘I can’t even believe it. It was so gratifying,’ Jordan said of the victory.
‘You never know how these races are going to end. You just try to survive. We hung in there all day. Great strategy by the team, and we gave ourselves a chance at the end. Look, I’m ecstatic.’