Is it really the Fourth of July if Joey Chestnut isn’t eating hot dogs in Coney Island?
The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest will go on as normal, but Chestnut won’t be present amid a dispute with Major League Eating, the organizer of the event.
Whether Chestnut’s absence is a “ban” has been a point of contention between the two sides, with Chestnut claiming MLE’s rules are the only reason he’s not allowed to participate.
A 16-time champion, Chestnut dominated the contest for much of his adult life and wasn’t showing many signs of slowing down before his run was interrupted. It’s not out of the question that he returns to take back his crown at some point, but bad blood makes that scenario far from guaranteed.
Here’s what you need to know about Chestnut’s ban and what he’s saying about the situation.
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Joey Chestnut ban, explained
Chestnut is not allowed to participate in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest because of a partnership he has with vegan brand Impossible Foods.
“We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest,” MLE said in a statement in June.
Chestnut is planning to participate in a hot dog eating contest on Netflix in September, which MLE says it was willing to allow if he didn’t promote another brand. Because of Chestnut’s deal with Impossible Foods, however, that wasn’t possible.
Chestnut contends that his agreement with Impossible Foods didn’t bar him from the Hot Dog Eating Contest until after the fact. He alleges that MLE changed its rules regarding exclusivity and left him without any options at that point.
“Everything with Impossible was perfectly fine by all my previous agreements. They changed terms and conditions [around] exclusivity,” Chestnut told Sports Illustrated ahead of Thursday’s contest.
“And they tried to dance around it,” Chestnut said. “They changed a lot of terms, and then they escalated things to a degree they didn’t imagine when they started leaking information and telling people I was banned and that I turned vegan, which clearly isn’t the case.”
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While Chestnut won’t be in Coney Island on Thursday, he will still be eating hot dogs. The 40-year-old is set to participate in an event at Fort Bliss in Texas, taking on active-duty U.S. service members in an effort to raise money for military families.
Could a return to Coney Island be on the horizon? Chestnut is open to it, he told Sports Illustrated.
“I’m not burning any bridges. And I love it — I love the Fourth of July and that contest,” he said. “I’m always willing to try. I don’t hold grudges. So nothing is out of the question.”
With the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest now wide open, Geoffrey Esper is the slight betting favorite to claim Chestnut’s crown.
