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Recently, Michael Jordan’s video featuring a child drew ire and scrutiny from across the internet.
Did he behave inappropriately?
Did he touch the kid in a “creepy” manner?
Here’s what Tyler Reddick, the kid’s father, had to say.
That kid is a real person, and his dad has something to say
Over Valentine’s Day weekend, Reddick won a NASCAR racing event called the Daytona 500.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan is co-owner of the No. 45 Toyota stock car.
(The other co-owner is Denny Hamlin, who won that same car race three times a — a big deal in racing circles, pun mostly unintended.)
Amidst the celebration, a video appeared to show Jordan touching the lower back, shorts, and leg of a young boy. (As we explained, it appeared that he was trying to help the kid with his wet clothes.)
That child is 6-year-old Beau. He is Reddick’s son.
On Tuesday, February 17, Reddick appeared on Stephen A. Smith’s Sirius XM show.
There, he addressed the widely-publicized backlash over the video, with prompting from Smith.
“From my perspective, I’ve gotten to know Michael and his family very well,”
“I don’t see what other people see when it comes to this,”
Reddick gushed about the victory — clearly trying to pivot away from the backlash by focusing upon the positive.
No, he isn’t ‘covering for’ anyone … and he’s not even trying
To someone with a clear understanding of the video, this isn’t a particularly remarkable interview.
Reddick is a racecar driver, not a PR specialist.
He simply answered the question, redirecting as well as he could.
The suggestion that the video is evidence of Jordan being some sort of predator is absurd, and Reddick knows that.
Unlike the strangers who saw Jordan try to help his friend’s son with his wet clothes and saw “brazen molestation” in broad daylight, he actually knows everyone involved.
What is Michael Jordan doing 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/sVZeTGGgXI
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) February 16, 2026
However, to those who believe that this video actually portrayed some sort of insidious intent, Reddick’s interview likely didn’t reassure them.
Why?
Because, to the worst sort of assumptions, Reddick’s dismissal could sound like a man who doesn’t care what a wealthy celebrity does to his son — because he won the race.
That’s not the case.
In reality, Reddick knows that nothing bad happened to his son. And he really doesn’t want to play defense and explain what, realistically, any reasonable person could see for themselves.
This ‘controversy’ was avoidable, for the record
As we previously acknowledged, Jordan may have made an error in judgment.
It is only natural to reach down and adjust the clothing of a young child whom you personally know. Especially for someone who is a father and a grandfather.
But it’s polite to ask someone before you mess with their clothing — even if you’re only trying to help.
That is, however, a far cry from the foul and baseless allegations that people on social media were hurling at the NBA icon.
Unfortunately, we live in a society where too many people would rather hunt for clues of sexual predators “hiding in plain site” than look for likely predators (who tend to be family or family friends) or actual sexual predators who infest our government and industries.
Playing foolish games of armchair detective with innocuous videos doesn’t keep kids safe.
