Michael Jordan is currently under fire for a viral video of him interacting with Tyler Reddick's son at the Daytona 500 yesterday (February 15). In the video, the former NBA star is seen celebrating Reddick's big win alongside the driver's oldest child, Beau.
He stood behind the six-year-old, repeatedly pinching the back of his t-shirt, as seen in a clip shared by @Breaking911. Many social media users believe the interaction was inappropriate and that Jordan should have kept his hands to himself. Others are coming to his defense, arguing that the Reddicks are like family to him and that the child didn't seem uncomfortable.
"Yeah this is weird," one Twitter/X user writes. "Yikes. I seriously doubt he intended to seem creepy, but in the current climate following the release of the Epstein files, perhaps all famous people should stand 6 feet away from children who aren’t their own. We are in a very dark place right now," another claims. Someone else says, "Seems harmless. Looks like he’s just playing around with the kid…he’s literally in front of everyone! Obviously he didn’t think anything of it."
Michael Jordan At The Daytona 500
Before the race, Jordan spoke with Fox Sports about 23XI Racing. “We got a couple of young kids that are learning. We’ve got a couple of veterans that are going to be up front. I think we’ve got a good team, good leaders and hopefully one of the four — I’ll take any one of the four — wins,” he explained. “I want to see us at the end, all four cars, which is very difficult, especially at a race like this. You just need to avoid the big one. But if we can put ourselves in a good position, that’s all I’ll ever ask for.”
After the race, Jordan told the outlet, “It feels like I won a championship.” At the time of writing, he has not publicly addressed the viral video of him with Reddick's son or the backlash he's receiving for it.
