The NFL has taken over the investigation into Carolina Panthers owner, Jerry Richardson, while he’s announced he will sell the team at season’s end.
The Carolina Panthers came into Sunday in Week 15 with the goal of getting a big win over the Green Bay Packers. But as Sunday afternoon came to a close the attention will shift back to team owner, Jerry Richardson. On Friday, it was announced that he was being investigated for misconduct, but those claims were ratcheted up on Sunday as more details were revealed.
L. Jon Wertheim and Viv Bernstein of Sports Illustrated released a report that went deeper into the details surrounding Richardson. According to their piece Richardson had a pattern of inappropriate comments toward female employees and even the use of a racial slur in reference to a former employee.
In their report, the authors revealed multiple confidential settlements between the organization and former employees. At least four employees “received significant settlements from Richardson or from the team in exchange for what amounted to a vow of silence.”
The authors of the piece reached out to the Panthers for further comment, but the organization refused to address the details.
Wertheim and Bernstein went into detail to describe what was called a “hostile work environment.” Richardson’s actions included physical touching, requests to perform acts of grooming on some female employees and comments on their appearance. All of the employees interviewed for the piece spoke in anonymity and provided many damming descriptions of working for the organization.
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"“You look back and it’s wackadoo,” says one former Carolina employee. “You felt preyed upon. You felt fear. You felt self-doubt. But when you’re in [that environment], everywhere you go, every family gathering, it’s, ‘Oh, you work in the NFL? That’s so cool.’ And you don’t want to lose your job.”"
The accusations against Richardson do not stop at inappropriate sexual comments, but also move to racial misconduct. The piece chronicles past episodes in which Richardson was a part of lawsuits involving organizations in which he led and also allegations that came from former Panthers employees.
The NFL will take the lead on the investigation into Richardson’s actions. On Friday, the initial investigation was announced and the team was going to handle the matter; that situation changed on Sunday. Specifics on the allegations have not been revealed and the NFL will use external legal resources to lead the investigation. None of the players commented on the situation.
This investigation comes at a time in which workplace misconduct by leadership personalities has become a major talking point in society. Allegations across multiple industries forced organizations to punish and remove prominent individuals across multiple industries including politics and entertainment.
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As a result of this, it was reported on Sunday night (per ESPN), that Richardson will sell the team that he has owned since their inception at the conclusion of the 2017 season. That surely won’t mean the end of the investigation, but stands quite telling given the circumstances.