CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While new Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper would like the focus to be on his plans for the team’s future, he cannot completely put the franchise’s sullied past behind him.
Tepper has to keep the prominent statue of Panthers’ founder Jerry Richardson outside of the stadium as part of the NFL-record $2.2 billion deal he agreed to in December after Richardson decided to sell the team amid reports of sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace.
Tepper said Tuesday when he was introduced as the team’s new owner that he’s “contractually obligated” to keep a 13-foot high statue of Richardson standing alongside two growling panthers where it is.