Carolina Panthers: Sale finalized as organization moves forward

The Carolina Panthers sale to David Tepper is finalized as the league and organization attempts to move forward from the Jerry Richardson scandal.

The sale of the Carolina Panthers has been finalized and David Tepper is now the official owner of the organization. For many, this will be marked as the day in which the team can begin to move forward from the scandal created by previous owner, Jerry Richardson.

However, even with his punishment handed down by the NFL last week, there’s still a concern that the underlying issue within the entire league has yet to be addressed.

“I am thrilled to begin this new era of Carolina Panthers football and am humbled by the overwhelming excitement and support for the team,” Tepper said in a statement from the organization. “On behalf of the fans and myself, I thank Jerry Richardson for bringing the team to the Carolinas and for entrusting me with its future.”

That future opening was created when Sports Illustrated released an in-depth piece that highlighted multiple allegations of sexual and racial misconduct by Richardson that involved the accusers signing non-disclosure agreements for their silence. The Panthers launched an investigation late in 2017, which was taken over by the NFL and former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White.

The investigation ended with Richardson being fined $2.75 million after agreeing to sell the team for $2.3 billion. After paying that fine and officially selling the team it seems like Richardson can ride off into the sunset without having to answer for or even apologize for the situation that he caused. He released a statement via the Carolina Panthers official media outlets that did not address or apologize for the matter in any fashion.

While Richardson has not spoken about the issues that led to his selling the team, Tepper has spoken about the subject matter in a way to help reassure everyone following the story that he will work to change the culture that has festered within the Carolina Panthers.

“I’m a person that believes in equality for everybody, including men and women,” Tepper said back in May when he was introduced by NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell. “Anything that comes out of [the NFL investigation] is the past. The past is the past. The future will be that.”

One of the more intriguing developments of this entire situation is the resignation of Tina Becker that was announced on Monday. Becker served in a variety of positions for the team during the last 19 seasons and was widely considered one of the most powerful women throughout the NFL.

She had been serving as the Chief Officer of Operations since Richardson stepped away from the team in December of last year. This is a major loss for the team and potentially the league as a whole.

Next: NFL 2018: Most overrated player on each team

The NFL and Carolina Panthers will work to put the stigma of Jerry Richardson behind them in the coming days, weeks and months. While the sale is final that doesn’t mean that the underlying issues are completely handled and it will be intriguing to watch if similar issues pop up across the league. If so, the NFL has to step up their response to the problem at hand.