For Jordan, the six-time NBA champion who co-founded the team alongside Denny Hamlin in 2021, the moment was deeply personal. Growing up in North Carolina, watching the Daytona 500 was a family tradition, and now he was living the dream as a winning owner.
“I can’t even believe it. It was so gratifying,” Jordan said in his post-race interview. “You never know how these races are going to end. You just try to survive. We hung in there all day. Great strategy by the team, and we gave ourselves a chance at the end. Look, I’m ecstatic.”
The emotion was real, the win was historic, and Jordan, who turned 63 on Tuesday following the race, was riding high. But by the time Monday rolled around, the celebration had been completely overshadowed by something else entirely.
The controversial clip
Amid the champagne showers and confetti of victory lane, cameras caught an interaction between Jordan and Beau, the six-year-old son of winning driver Tyler Reddick, that quickly set social media ablaze.
A video surfaced of Jordan with Reddick’s son Beau during the Daytona 500 celebration, in which he repeatedly pinches the lower back of the young boy and brushes his leg, Yahoo Sports reports.
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show the NBA legend reaching toward Beau from behind, briefly grabbing and pinching him before placing a hand on the back of his leg as fans crowded around the celebration, per The Daily Caller.
Within hours, the clip had accumulated millions of views and ignited a fierce debate across social media.
The reaction was swift and unsparing. “Straight to jail,” wrote one user. “MJ ruined his entire legacy in only 23 seconds,” declared another.
50 Cent isn’t buying it
Whatever the explanation, one high-profile voice wasn’t willing to let it slide. 50 Cent didn’t waste time weighing in on the controversy, taking to social media with a scathing response that left no room for interpretation, AllHipHop reports.
“WTF are you doing Mike,” the rapper wrote in his caption. “If I have to put all these sneakers back I’m a f**k you up. WTF are ya doing playing with the baby a**!”
For 50 Cent, no amount of champagne-and-ice context was going to make that clip look okay.
The comment sections on his post were predictably divided, with some fans agreeing wholeheartedly and others pushing back, urging people to look at the fuller picture before rushing to judgment.
But 50 Cent had spoken, and in the court of social media opinion, that carries serious weight.