Jerry Richardson, who was the founding owner of the Carolina Panthers in 1995 but sold the organization in 2018 following several accusations of inappropriate language and behavior with employees, died Wednesday night at the age of 86.
“Jerry Richardson’s contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic,” Panthers owners David and Nicole Tepper said in a statement. “With the arrival of the Panthers in 1995, he changed the landscape of sports in the region and gave the NFL fans here a team to call their own. He was incredibly gracious to me when I purchased the team, and for that I am thankful. Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones. We wish them much peace and comfort.”
A North Carolina native, Richardson became the first former NFL player since George Halas to be named an owner when the Carolina Panthers were unanimously awarded the league’s 29th franchise.
Once regarded as one of the most powerful owners in the league, Richardson’s tenure with the Panthers came crumbling down in 2017 when Sports Illustrated reported that “at least four former Panthers employees have received ‘significant’ monetary settlements due to inappropriate workplace comments and conduct by owner Jerry Richardson, including sexually suggestive language and behavior, and on at least one occasion directing a racial slur at an African-American Panthers scout.”
The same day, it was announced that Richardson would sell the team following the 2017 season. A statue that had been erected in his honor outside of Bank of America Stadium in 2016 was removed in 2020 over concerns of violence.
[Panthers]
