The Fourth of July is about spending time at the pool, watching fireworks and eating hot dogs. In the case of the latter, the holiday is also about watching others do the same via the annual tradition of the the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The competition takes place every Independence Day at New York City's famed Coney Island, which draws in fans from every borough — and from across the nation via ESPN — to see the most American (and the most literally gut-wrenching) sport there is.
Joey Chestnut, a record 16-time winner of the contest, could be considered an American hero for his unprecedented success. But he won't get a chance to continue his dominance in 2024 after a de facto ban from the competition.
Here's the beef that went down between Chestnut and Nathan's in one of the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest's juiciest controversies.
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Where is Joey Chestnut?
In June, Chestnut signed a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods. The company is known for making plant-based meat alternatives while focusing on "eliminating the need to make food from animals," according to the company's website.
Major League Eating, which organizes the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, barred competitors from endorsing rival products, which effectively banned Chestnut from competing due to his Impossible Foods deal.
"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.
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Chestnut took to social media to give his perspective in the immediate aftermath of the decision, calling himself "gutted" by the ban. He also spoke to Sports Illustrated ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.
"This was never an issue in the past," he said. "And they tried to dance around it — 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."
By the time MLE changed its rules, Chestnut says, it was already too late for him to do anything about it.
With bad blood on both sides, the reality is this: The greatest hot dog eater of all time will not defend his title at the biggest contest of the year.
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Instead, "Jaws" will compete at the Fort Bliss Pop Goes the Fort celebration in four-against-one competition with a five-minute time limit, half the time allowed at Nathan's event. The event will be in Fort Bliss, Texas, a U.S. Army base, and Chestnut will celebrate Independence Day by competing against U.S. soldiers to raise money for military families.
“Joey Chestnut and his team decided to spend this patriotic day with the soldiers from Fort Bliss,” Lora Diem, special events coordinator at Fort Bliss’ MWR, told El Paso Inc. “It’s very exciting for us. This is the first year he’s not competing at Nathan’s in New York. This is his first opportunity to spend time with active-duty troops.”
The event will kick off at 5 p.m. ET on the Fourth of July at Briggs Park. It will be broadcast on Chestnut's YouTube channel.
