NFL: No pressure on Richardson to sell
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NFL made it clear Thursday that it isn’t forcing Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson to sell the team while he is under investigation for sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace.
NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said during a conference call that “there was no pressure from the league on Mr. Richardson” to sell his team. Lockhart said Richardson
“came to the conclusion over that weekend that putting his team up for sale was what he wanted to do. We found out about it shortly before the announcement came out.”
The NFL plans to hire outside counsel to conduct the Richardson investigation, but a final decision has not been made on which firm.
Lockhart said the league didn’t know about the allegations against Richardson until Friday, the same day the Panthers put out a stunning news release first announcing its own investigation of Richardson’s alleged workplace misconduct. That was followed on Sunday by a Sports Illustrated report that detailed Richardson’s alleged misconduct.
Lockhart also said the league had no knowledge of the reported financial agreements the Panthers made with four former employees to settle claims of sexual harassment by Richardson. The settlements were detailed in the Sports Illustrated report.
The Panthers’ failure to report the settlements could be a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, which requires teams and players to let the league know of any matters that potentially fall under the policy.
The NFL faces a potential sticking point in its investigation of Richardson — namely, the “significant” monetary settlements the Panthers made with the four ex-employees, who were not named in the SI report. Those confidential settlements included non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses, which might have been breached.
Lockhart said the NFL is expecting full cooperation from the Panthers.
There is a huge concern among the fan base that new ownership might move the team from Charlotte.
“The league, as we have said in a number of different contexts, our first choice is always for franchise stability,” Lockhart said. “The franchise in Carolina has been successful both on the field and from a community impact.”
Forbes recently valued the franchise at $2.3 billion.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he wants to see the team stay in Charlotte, and added he planned to call local Charlotte officials to discuss what he can do from a state government perspective.
“I think the Panthers are important to North Carolina and to the economy,” Cooper said. “I don’t see any reason why they should be moved anywhere else. I would certainly prefer people from North Carolina to own the Panthers but obviously we can’t control that. But I am going to discuss with officials in Charlotte what steps we should take. We certainly want to be encouraging to the Panthers to stay in North Carolina and there is no reason to believe that they’re going anywhere.”
There have already been some potential buyers who have come forward to express interest in buying the team.
All owners must be approved by three-quarters (24 of 32) of member clubs.