A brief clip didn’t show the whole story around Michael Jordan at the Daytona 500 after Tyler Reddick’s victory.
A social media storm erupted over footage uploaded to X that appeared to show Jordan grabbing at the lower back of Reddick’s son.
However, further context has been added with the help of a second video that shows the child celebrating and getting showered in ice before Jordan intervened later.
It helped confirm what others have been claiming from the start.
“The kid got a giant bucket of ice poured on him, and it was all stuck in his shirt and down the back of him, Michael was shaking the ice out. Not everything is creepy pedophilia,” a user on X noted.
Radio host Bubba Clem also came to MJ’s defense.
“Michael Jordan reaching into Tyler Reddick’s son’s waistband went viral fast,” he said.
“But if you actually watch it closely, you can see chunks of ice packed in the kid’s back. First glance it looks bad. Second glance looks like someone helping a kid who had ice shoved down his shirt.”
A producer on the show says, “It initially looks shocking and I think there’s a reasonable explanation for it. It looks like he’s trying to get stuff out of his shirt.“
Jordan has yet to address the viral incident as of Tuesday, but it was an otherwise joyful day for the six-time NBA champion.
Reddick secured the first-ever Daytona 500 victory for 23XI Racing after leading for only one lap, crossing under the checkered flag as chaos unfolded behind him.
“It feels like I won a championship, but until I get my ring, I won’t even know,” Jordan said.
But as the podium celebrations wore on, that moment between the 63-year-old and Reddick’s son caught the eye of those watching on.
The vision has amassed 1.7 million views and quickly became a trending topic.
Countless users were quick to call out the NBA icon over the vision, with many believing it was inappropriate.
One person wrote on X: “I can’t think of a single scenario where this is okay. Not even one.”
A second added, “I feel that was very inappropriate behaviour by Michael Jordan.”
A third posted: “You can’t be doing this. Just not on. That child looked very uncomfortable.”
While speculation continued to mount on social media over the footage, Jordan and his team were soaking up the win.
NASCAR driver and fellow co-owner of the team, Denny Hamlin, said the moment brought pure joy to arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
“He loves his race team,” Hamlin told reporters.
“I was like, ‘You know, you guys understand the responsibilities you have, that you have the power to bring joy to Michael Jordan. You have that power and nobody else can do it.’
“There’s nothing else that can bring him the joy that seeing what his team can do and they took it to heart.”
Reddick managed to pull off the win by holding the lead for just one lap on Sunday, and he won his ninth time in the Cup Series — and his first since the 2024 season.
“Just incredible how it all played out. Just true Daytona madness,” Reddick said. “I’ve already lost my voice from screaming. Never thought I’d be Daytona 500 champion.”
He added: “It’s stuff you dream of as a kid. Now, I definitely didn’t look into the future and know that I would drive for Michael Jordan. But to be able to have someone like Michael Jordan believe in me enough, someone like Denny Hamlin.
“I’m just trying to do my best to live on the promises that I made to them and vice versa.”