NASCAR star Tyler Reddick said he “doesn’t see what other people see” in regards to public criticism over Michael Jordan’s now-viral interaction with his six-year-old son, Beau, while celebrating their Daytona 500 victory Sunday.
Jordan faced some backlash over online footage that showed him appearing to grab at the shirt of Reddick’s son and brush something off his leg during the post-race celebration on Victory Lane.
During a Tuesday appearance on Stephen A. Smith’s Sirius XM radio show, Reddick — who races the No. 45 Toyota stock car that is co-owned by Jordan and Denny Hamlin — was asked about the media attention the moment had received.
“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,” Reddick said. “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.”
Jordan, who has a close relationship with Reddick and his family, carried Beau to Victory Lane after the Daytona 500 win.
A second video of the interaction shows Beau getting showered in ice, which some believe Jordan was just trying to help brush off the ice.
Jordan’s 23XI racing team settled an antitrust lawsuit with NASCAR last December.