CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Retired NBA great Michael Jordan took the stand at the landmark NASCAR antitrust case Friday and testified that he has been a fan of the stock car series since he was a child but felt he had little choice but to sue to force changes in a business model he sees shortchanging teams and drivers risking their lives to keep the sport going.
Jordan testified before a packed courtroom for an hour. His celebrity drew quips from the judge and even a defense attorney as he outlined why the team he co-owns, 23XI, had joined Front Row Motorsports in going to court against the top auto racing series in the United States.
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Michael Jordan arriving to federal courthouse to testify in NASCAR antitrust case on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo)
FILE - Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, left, and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin arrive in the Western District of North Carolina on Monday Dec 1, 2025 in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jenna Fryer, File)
NASCAR chairman Jim France enters federal court in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday Dec 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenna Fryer)
FILE - Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, sits in his pit box during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill, File)
“Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity,” the soft-spoken Jordan told the jury. “I sat in those meetings with longtime owners who were brow-beaten for so many years trying to make change. I was a new person, I wasn’t afraid. I felt I could challenge NASCAR as a whole. I felt as far as the sport, it needed to be looked at from a different view.”
Jordan's highy anticipated appearance followed dramatic testimony from Heather Gibbs, the daughter-in-law of race team owner Joe Gibbs, about the chaotic six-hour period in which teams had to sign an extension or forfeit the charters that guarantee revenue week to week throughout NASCAR's 38-race season.
“The document was something in business you would never sign,” said Heather Gibbs, who is also a licensed real estate agent. “It was like a gun to your head: if you don't sign, you have nothing.”
Charters are the equivalent of the franchise model used in other sports and in NASCAR it guarantees every chartered car a spot in every race, plus a defined payout from the series. The system was created in 2016, and during the two-plus years of bitter negotiations on an extension teams begged for the renewable charters to be made permanent for revenue stability.
When NASCAR refused to make them permanent and gave the teams six hours in September 2024 to sign the 112-page extension, 23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations out of 15 to refuse. They instead filed the antitrust suit and the trial opened Monday to hear their allegations that NASCAR is a monopolistic bully. 23XI is co-owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row is owned by fast food franchiser Bob Jenkins.
Jordan testified that 23XI bought a third charter late in 2024 for $28 million even with all the uncertainty.
“I’m pretty sure they know I love to win," the six-time NBA champion said. "Denny convinced me getting a third driver improved our chances to win, so I dove in.”
Like other witnesses this week, Jordan described a NASCAR that refused to discuss options or potential changes to the charter system, which he supports. He was asked why 23XI didn't sign the extensions last fall.
“One, I didn’t think it was economically viable. Two, it said you could not sue NASCAR, that was an antitrust violation, I felt. Three, they gave us an ultimatum I didn’t think was fair to 23XI," Jordan said, adding: “I wanted a partnership and permanent charters wasn’t even a consideration. The pillars that the teams wanted, no one on the NASCAR side even negotiated or compromised. They were not even open-minded to welcome those conversations, so this is where we ended up.”
Jordan referred to the NBA business model, which shares approximately half its revenue with players, far more than NASCAR.
“The revenue split was far less than any business I’ve ever been a part of. We didn’t think we’d ever get to what basketball was getting but we wanted to move in that direction," he said. “The thing I see in NASCAR that I think is absent is a shared responsibility of growth as well as loss.”
Jordan said he owns 60% of 23XI and has invested $35 million to $40 million in the team, which first fielded cars in 2021. Jenkins testified earlier this week that he has not turned a profit since launching his team in the early 2000s and estimates he has lost $100 million.
Heather Gibbs earlier told the jury how she became co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing the day after her husband, Coy, unexpectedly died in his sleep the same night their son, Ty, won NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series championship in 2022. Coy Gibbs had moved into a leadership role with JGR following the death of his older brother, J.D., in 2019.
Because Joe Gibbs had lost both his sons and had built the team as a legacy for his family, his daughter-in-law took an active role in the organization and participated in negotiations for the charter extensions. When NASCAR made its final offer at 6 p.m. on a Friday night without permanent charters, she said her team was devastated. She said her father-in-law called NASCAR chairman Jim France pleading for a resolution.
“Joe said, ‘Jim, you can’t do this,'” she said. “And Jim was done with the conversation.”
Heather Gibbs said she had to leave to take her son to a baseball game in Chapel Hill and left worried about her father-in-law, who was 84 at the time.
“I left him sitting in the dark, listening to his blood sugar monitors going off,” she testified. “We decided we had to sign. We can't lose everything. I did not think it was a fair deal to the teams.”
Joe Gibbs is both a Hall of Fame NASCAR owner and NFL Hall of Fame coach. He led the Washington football team to three Super Bowl titles and JGR has won five Cup Series championships. JGR has 450 employees, charters for four Cup cars and relies solely on outside sponsorship and investors to stay afloat. The team will mark its 35th season next year and Gibbs told the jury that JGR needs permanent charters to protect its investment.
“It’s the most important point, a permanent place in their history books,” she testified. “It is absolutely vital to the teams for us to know we have security, it can’t be taken away, to know what we’ve invested in is ours.”
23XI and Front Row likewise have said they will likely go out of business without charters after racing this season without them.
Jordan praised France but also singled him out.
“I’m not discrediting the things NASCAR has done for the sport but I’m pushing them to be better,” Jordan testified. “The risk is to the drivers and the teams. The credit is not being given to the drivers who risk their lives every week without an insurance policy or union. There is nothing to benefit them.”
“I never saw Jim France drive a car. I never saw Jim France risk his life,” he added. “I’d like to give a little more credit to those who do.”
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Michael Jordan arriving to federal courthouse to testify in NASCAR antitrust case on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo)
FILE - Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, left, and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin arrive in the Western District of North Carolina on Monday Dec 1, 2025 in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jenna Fryer, File)
NASCAR chairman Jim France enters federal court in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday Dec 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenna Fryer)
FILE - Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, sits in his pit box during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill, File)
A man armed with a rifle rammed a vehicle into a major synagogue in a Detroit suburb and was fatally shot by security, The Associated Press has learned.
That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday. The vehicle caught on fire after crashing into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, the person said.
The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
“No kids or no staff were injured whatsoever,” Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said. He said one security officer was hit by the vehicle but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
Synagogues around the world have increased security and protections for worshippers since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran on Feb. 28.
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The group said in a statement: “A synagogue is meant to be a sanctuary — a place of prayer, learning, and community. Violence and antisemitism have no place in our society.”
It added: “We appreciate all the voices speaking with moral clarity against this terrible form of hate and urge all people of goodwill to join in condemning and fighting antisemitism.
“We stand with the Temple Israel community and with the entire greater Detroit Jewish community, praying for healing, safety, and strength. In the face of hate, we remain committed to building communities rooted in dignity, justice, and peace.”
The Union for Reform Judaism is the umbrella group for Reform congregations in North America.
Authorities have not yet named the suspect or disclosed a possible motive.
The Orthodox Union, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, issued a statement decrying the violence and said it was “outraged and shaken.”
“Once again, a house of worship has been shattered by an act of violence intended to kill Jews. ... The swift actions of those on the scene helped prevent what could have been a far more tragic outcome.”
“This incident is a stark and frightening reminder that Jewish institutions across the United States continue to face serious and persistent threats, and the escalating hateful rhetoric in the public discourse puts a target on the backs of all Jews.,” it said.
The Orthodox Union called for “sufficient funding” for security at Jewish institutions.
The identity of the gunman and his possible motive have not yet been released.
Temple Israel released a statement on Thursday afternoon confirming that no one had been physically harmed in the attack, including the 140 students who were in the early childhood learning center when the car barreled in.
The statement credited security personnel who “confronted and neutralized” the driver, and said that teachers used established protocols to keep the children safe.
The statement also expressed gratitude for the Michigan community that came forward immediately following the attack to support members of the synagogue, including the Shenendoah Country Club that sheltered and fed staff, children and parents amid the chaos.
“What incredible neighbors we have. What incredible police force we have,” the message read.
In a post on social media, Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said: “Shocked by the attack on a synagogue near Detroit. We are in contact with the Jewish community and local authorities. Antisemitism must never be allowed to rear its ugly head.”
It was not immediately known who carried out the attack or a possible motive.
Allison Jacobs’s 18-month-old daughter goes to day care at Temple Israel, and got word of the attack.
“There are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,” she told the AP. “I was hoping that it was a false report. You know, sometimes that can happen.”
Jacobs said she tries not to think about all that’s going on in the world.
“You never think that this is actually going to happen to you,” she said. “But I know that it’s — it’s just terrible. This morning I was mourning the loss of the school that got hit in Iran.”
The president said at a White House event marking Women’s History Month, “I want to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community and all of the people” in the Detroit area.
Trump added, “It’s a terrible thing, but it goes on” and said that authorities would be working to get “right down to the bottom of it.”
“It’s absolutely incredible that things like this happen,” Trump said.
He then returned to his prepared remarks, without providing details on the investigation.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, said the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred.
“We lose our humanity when we seek violent means as a solution,” Myers said in a statement. “No one should dwell in fear because of who they are.”
Myers is rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, where 11 worshippers from three congregations were killed in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The gunman is now on death row.
It was not immediately known who carried out the attack or a possible motive.
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is condemning the incident.
“There is no justification for anyone to direct violence toward any house or worship or religious institution,” it said in a statement.
Investigators were still working to identify the man and a possible motive for the attack, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
The person cautioned that the investigation was still in the early stages.
CAIR is a Muslim civil right and advocacy organization.
Authorities said none of those who attended were injured.
“No kids or no staff were injured whatsoever,” Oakland County Sheriff Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s office cleared the building and about a dozen parents sprinted to get their children from the early childhood learning center inside. West Bloomfield School District went on lockdown.
Police say a security guard was injured after a car crashed into a synagogue outside Detroit on Thursday.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said a person drove a car through Temple Israel’s doors and was driving down the hall with “purpose” and struck a security guard.
Security personnel opened fire on the vehicle, Bouchard said.
One person was found dead in the car although Bouhchard said it’s unclear how that person died. The injured security guard was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, Bouchard said.
Synagogues around the world have been on edge and ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.
The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives Saturday to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.
In a similar incident to what happened in West Bloomfield Township, an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year in October. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.
The vehicle caught on fire after crashing into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday.
Investigators were still working to identify the man and a possible motive for the attack. The person cautioned that the investigation is still in the early stages
The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Oakland County Sheriff Sheriff Mike Bouchard confirmed during an earlier news conference that security at the synagogue had engaged in gunfire with at least one person, and that no one was in custody.
A man armed with a rifle rammed a vehicle into the nation’s largest Reform synagogue, a source tells The Associated Press. The attack occurred at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township.
A man armed with a rifle rammed a vehicle into a major synagogue in a Detroit suburb and was fatally shot by security. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday.
The person said the vehicle caught on fire after crashing into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township.
Investigators are still working to identify the man and a possible motive for the attack. The person cautioned that the investigation is still in the early stages The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
A woman gathers children as law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
People gather near Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue, Thursday, March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
