NASCAR Seemingly “Throwing Up the White Flag” as Fans Insinuate Michael Jordan’s Victory After Massive Lawsuit Signing

“I wouldn’t have filed it if I didn’t think I could win.” Michael Jordan confidently declared in the past weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. While his drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace grappled with a 28-car wreck, the details of the NASCAR lawsuit nibbled at the back of Jordan’s mind. However, he could find hope in the fantastic anti-trust lawyer, Jeffrey Kessler, who is representing his faction – and also the opposition.

In its first move after over a week of the lawsuit, NASCAR appointed its lawyer. Chris Yates is a high-powered advocate in the sports industry – but he is mainly known for his settlement cases. The high disparity between him and Kessler prompted fans to predict a swift victory for Jordan.

Michael Jordan can sweep the stakes

Holding six NBA championships is no mean feat. And Michael Jordan is using every ounce of his winning strategies in his NASCAR pursuits. Running a 4-year-old Cup Series team that already boasts 7 victories is one of them. Then he is also leading 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against the monopolistic practices of the France family. To do this, he has a stellar lawyer by his side – Jeffrey Kessler of Winston and Strawn. Among his legal victories, he recently won equal pay rights for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team.

In comparison, NASCAR’s recruited lawyer may have a slightly smaller resume to brag about. Both Yates and Kessler recently locked horns with each other in the name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights for NCAA athletes. Kessler won that case, awarding the athletes with new revenue opportunities. Yates also represented the US Soccer Federation against the women players whom Kessler represented – the latter again came out victorious. Michael Jordan’s lawyer may have an upper hand over NASCAR’s appointed representative.

Yates did secure a victory for World Aquatics, dissolving two anti-trust lawsuits by the International Swimming League and another by swimmers Tom Shields and Katinka Hosszu. However, what Jeffrey Kessler is fighting for is a turning point in NASCAR. He said other sports like the NBA or the NCAA went through this phase to keep up with the times. “If NASCAR is willing to change, it’s got to be a significant change to make a fair system for the teams…It’s the same type of thing I went through with the NCAA, who had a choice to make. They could keep fighting in court and keep losing and have the new system thrust upon them or in that case, they finally sat down and said, we’re ready to transform the sport and we’ll be a part of it.”

And the NASCAR community is all for this revolutionary moment in the sport. Fans cheered for Michael Jordan, expecting NASCAR’s side to lose.

NASCAR fans are rooting for Team Jordan

Ever since the sanctioning body dropped the new charter deal, the NASCAR community knew which side to choose. Teams got a 6-hour window to either sign the deal or risk losing their charters for next year. This apparent muscling tactic compelled most to sign, while the stronger ones stood aside. So now as Michael Jordan and Co appear to be on the winning side, fans are simply cheering for them. Browsing through Yates’ resume, a fan was certain about Jordan’s win. “So that means NASCAR is going for the settlement route.” This was purely based on Yates’ history with Kessler in the NCAA and the US Soccer Federation lawsuits, both of which went in favor of Jordan’s lawyer.

This was enough for one fan to mock NASCAR for calling a lawyer who just lost two cases to Jordan’s lawyer: “So basically they are throwing up the white flag.” Despite the verdict going in Kessler’s favor on the last two occasions, Kate remains a formidable lawyer, securing other trial wins for the US Soccer Federation.

Chris Yates represents Fanatics, sued by Panini for anti-competitive conduct through its long-term exclusive licensing deals. The sports apparel company also apparently ‘raided’ key Panini employee groups. One fan referred to this case and had no doubt Denny Hamlin and Co. would win. “The guy who is representing Fanatics and the ACC? @dennyhamlin enjoy the win.” Somebody else also cited the twin instances – the NCAA and the soccer cases – where Kessler beat Yates. “That’s cool, dudes lost to Kessler before so this will be a great legal battle lmao.” Another fan deflated NASCAR’s hopes by making a pop culture reference: “Should have called Saul.”

Evidently, all hopes are directed toward Michael Jordan’s win. Let us see how the NASCAR lawsuit unfolds in the coming weeks.