In NASCAR antitrust fight, Michael Jordan's manager goes from adviser to stock car series to target

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Long before the battle over the charter system led to the antitrust lawsuit now engulfing NASCAR, its executives found Michael Jordan and his small group of advisers a beneficial resource in discussing growth for the top racing series in the United States. They held meetings with Curtis Polk, Jordan's right-hand man, to go over best practices and other areas that could be improved. That was when Jordan still owned the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. Now he owns a NASCAR team, and 23XI Racing — along with Front Row Motorsports — is suing the stock car series over alleged antitrust violations. Caught in the crosshairs is Polk, who was singled out in NASCAR's countersuit as the mastermind for a near mutiny by the race teams over revenue sharing. From adviser to enemy The countersuit NASCAR filed earlier this month wrongly called Jordan's longtime business manager and partner a "sports agent" and repeatedly singled out Polk as the ringleader against the current charter agreements signed last fall by most Cup Series teams. NASCAR also claimed Polk threatened a boycott of the Daytona 500 qualifying races and persuaded teams to boycott a meeting with NASCAR. The teams signed the charters just before last season's playoffs after a take-it-or-leave-it offer by NASCAR. Although the charter system remains flawed — teams want them made permanent like a franchise in other major sports — it does guarantee a spot in the field and other revenue incentives. Thirteen teams signed but 23XI and Front Row held out — in large part because of a clause in the charter that prohibits teams from suing NASCAR — and since both teams didn't like the terms, they wanted the right to sue over antitrust allegations. And now we are here: Counterclaims, warnings that a 23XI court victory could cause NASCAR to disband the entire charter system, a December trial date and a full-throated attack against Polk. "I don't think Mr. Polk really understands the sport," NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates told The Associated Press. "I think he came into it and his view is it should be much more like the NBA or other league sports. But it's not. No motorsport is like that. He's done a lot of things that might work in the NBA or might be OK in the NBA but just are not appropriate in NASCAR." Jordan, through a spokeswoman, wanted it known that he and Polk are in lockstep and everything Polk has done represents the NBA icon. Polk owns a piece of 23XI alongside Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. "Curtis and MJ stand united. His perspective is if you are coming after Curtis, you are coming after him," said the spokeswoman. "He doesn't look at this as just business. It's personal." Hamlin also took exception to Yates' comments. "That's like saying a chef doesn't know how to cook. He's built Michael Jordan's empire for the last 30 years. The guy knows the business," Hamlin said. "Curtis has just been fantastic for our team and certainly a pioneer, I believe, and a trailblazer for new ideas that our team uses every single time we hit the racetrack and how we do business." Many team executives at Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the weekend declined to speak on the record about NASCAR's attack on Polk. Some say they believe NASCAR's warning that if 23XI is successful in court, the charters will be disbanded. Others say NASCAR just wants scared teams to reason with 23XI, but disbanding the charter system is an empty threat because they are existing seven-year contracts between NASCAR and 13 organizations representing 30 cars. NASCAR said Monday it doesn't want to disband the charter system, and referred to Yates' statement on the counterclaim that the 23XI lawsuit "opens up a Pandora's box and calls into question whether the charter system will continue." NASCAR Hall of Fame car owner Richard Childress did defend Polk, who was chosen as a negotiator by the Race Team Alliance in the charter extension talks. "Curtis hadn't did anything that anyone else hadn't did," Childress said. "He didn't do nothing that everybody else on the RTA did and that's all I will say. Curtis didn't do anything to anybody and that's the quote." Who is Polk? Although he did start as an agent, Polk has advised Jordan since 1989 and manages Jordan's financial and business affairs, family office and related companies. Polk was part of the Hornets' ownership group, was the managing partner of Hornets Sports & Entertainment and an alternate governor on the NBA's Board of Governors. Polk advised Jordan during the launch of Nike's Jordan Brand in 1997 and was an executive producer of "The Last Dance," the award-winning docuseries chronicling the Chicago Bulls and Jordan's NBA rise. Polk has also managed the financial affairs of numerous sports stars; in 1996, Polk negotiated four of the five highest contracts in NBA history at that time. So, yes, NASCAR is correct in that his background is not in motorsports. That's apparently the biggest problem and a familiar one in NASCAR: A decade ago, co-founder Rob Kauffman of Fortress Investment Group bailed out Michael Waltrip Racing and pushed for the RTA and the initial charter system that debuted in 2016. Kauffman, always considered an outsider to NASCAR, is no longer an active team owner. Like Kauffman, NASCAR doesn't appear to view Polk as one of the good 'ol boys simply satisfied by the adrenaline rush of bumping and banging race cars 38 weekends per year. Like Kauffman, he wants to understand why the France family-owned series allegedly monopolizes the support. Many team executives blanched when asked their opinion on Polk and the role he played in charter negotiations, clearly not interested in landing in NASCAR's crosshairs. "Curtis is a smart guy. He's a really smart guy," was all Joe Gibbs Racing President Dave Alpern, a member of the RTA negotiating committee, would say to AP.