NBA Legend Michael Jordan Just Sued Nascar. The Sport (and the Business of the Sport) Will Never Be the Same

A recently filed federal antitrust suit shows Nascar must have ‘made it personal’ for Michael Jordan
How did Michael Jordan arguably become (especially if I’m doing the arguing) the greatest NBA player of all time? Hard work. Remarkable drive. Relentless focus. And an ability to turn slights, snubs, and insults — sometimes real, more often manufactured — into competitive fuel. Jordan’s ability to manufacture an enemy — to take it personally — was a running theme in The Last Dance documentary.

Jordan against the Pacers? “It became personal with me.” Jordan and the Pistons? “Oh, I hated them. They made it personal.” Jordan and George Karl, simply because Karl didn’t stop by his table at a restaurant? “That’s all I needed was for him to do that … and it became personal with me.”

Sounds extreme, but competition — again, real or imagined — is also a useful tool. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that competition boosts performance on difficult tasks: improving focus and learning, sparking creativity and innovation, increasing productivity, and helping individuals and teams better accomplish their goals.

Jordan’s latest goal? Changing the way NASCAR does business. Jordan’s 23XI Racing team, along with another team Front Row Motorsports, just filed a federal antitrust lawsuit accusing NASCAR of being a monopoly, claiming the sanctioning body has “used anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport.”