Michael Jordan, the NBA legend who turns 63 today, came under public scrutiny recently amid a controversy that erupted on social media after his team, 23XI Racing, won the Daytona 500. A video that recorded Jordan in a questionable moment went viral on social media just shortly after the victory.
Interesting celebration choice by Michael Jordan after winning the Daytona 500.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 16, 2026
The 63-year-old NBA legend was seen pinching a young child’s shirt from behind multiple times during the celebration. The child was the son of Tyler Reddick, the NASCAR driver who won the Daytona 500 for 23XI Racing.
While Jordan faced criticism from fans on social media, Stephen A. Smith recorded an episode of his show ‘Straight Shooter’ to defend the Bulls legend.
“In the aftermath of that victory, Jordan was playing around. There’s a video circulating about him with a little kid. It happened to be Tyler’s kid, by the way. Jordan was tickling his leg or what have you. And a lot of people use that as an impetus to touch on the inappropriateness involving Michael Jordan.”
“And I’m not going to get into all of that, to be quite honest with you. I’m not here to comment on viral clips per se without full context. You’ve got to contextualize these things properly.”
“It’s a kid that Michael Jordan loves like it’s his own kid. It’s a kid that he’s known for years. That’s the son of a driver who just won the Daytona 500 for him. It’s also a kid that Michael Jordan knows very, very well. If you see footage, if you see pictures, he’s holding the kid in his arms, he’s walking around playing with them, and what have you.”
“It’s not the first time he’s been seen with the kid. Not the second time either. He’s very, very familiar with the kid. He knows him. He’s got a lot of love for his family.”
“And I believe adults were standing right there. So, I’m not here to sit up there and absolve anybody from anything. I’m saying, why would we jump to that conclusion? Why would we do that? Particularly when it comes to somebody the likes of Michael Jordan. It’s a legitimate question.”
“Having said that, we also have to take into consideration camera angles and stuff like that, how things could be distorted. We’ve got to consider that. We’ve got to take into consideration the fact that it was just an eight-second clip.”
“And the reality is that emotional misconceptions usually come into play in a lot of these instances. One could easily argue. Certainly, Michael Jordan would argue that if he were prone to argue over such things.”
“He’s the kind of person that’s not gonna dignify certain things with a response to other ridiculousness of it is something that he would just simply and summarily dismiss. And that’s something that we have to take into consideration.”
“But when we have to look at ourselves, I think it’s important to say this… There’s nothing wrong with holding people accountable. We live in a day and age where it’s very, very important to hold people accountable. It’s pivotal, actually.”
“But in the process of holding people accountable, it should be based on facts, not feelings. It should be based on what we know, not what we think. And unfortunately, the days and times that we’re living in, that’s not necessarily the case.”
“One could easily say we should stop acting like a viral moment is a verdict when we should know better. But we know that we’re not living in that kind of day and age. And a lot of people are willing to convict one another in the court of public opinion, you know.”
“Call it algorithmic amplification, call it, you know, people jumping to conclusions because it’s profitable for them to do so. Call it people just needing to have something to say and are finding a way to make sure their voice is heard.”
“That’s all cool because it’s par for the course in today’s day and age. But we also have to understand that you should be very, very hesitant to impugn the integrity of certain people who are as accomplished and who have done as much as Michael Jordan has done.”
“Today is his 63rd birthday. Just won the Daytona 500. Playing around with a kid while his father was standing right there. And that’s the kind of conclusion that we jump to.”
“Again, you can understand in this day and age how some people would take things. But I saw the video. It’s a non-story in my opinion, based on what I saw.”
“If it were a story, I would have touched it more. I would have touched it more fervently, especially in the day and age that we’re living in. But that’s not what I saw.”
“Do I know the man? Yes. Is he a friend? You’re damn right he is. But this doesn’t have anything to do with what I saw on video. And it doesn’t have anything to do with the bigger message that I’m trying to articulate. And that is a rush to judgment with enjoyment attached to it.”
“Because anything that creates clicks that ultimately impugns the integrity of individuals is something that we don’t hesitate to do in this day and age,” concluded Smith.
While I am in no position to pass any verdict on the situation, it is important to note that Tyler Reddick, the father of the child in the video, also responded to the incident in Jordan’s defense.
“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 on the Stephen A. Smith radio show to dismiss the controversy. “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.”
Therefore, even though the parties directly involved with the incident have no objections, given the context and the nature of the video, the public will still criticize Jordan over this somehow.
As Smith rightly said, we live in a day and age where nothing goes unseen, and the public jumps to its own conclusion. Even if Jordan loves the child like his own grandson, it is sad to see that the public jumps to distasteful conclusions without the proper context.
