Jerry Richardson, as the co-chairman of the search committee, helped Roger Goodell get elected commissioner in 2006 to a job that now pays him $40 million per year.
Now, it's going to hurt, but Goodell has no choice: He must immediately and indefinitely suspend the sleazy and creepy Richardson as the owner of the Panthers pending the abrupt plan to sell the team.
The Panthers did announce Monday afternoon that Tina Becker has been named Chief Operating Officer and will have "full control of the day-to-day management of the organization."
Hours after Sports Illustrated published a detailed account Sunday of Richardson's inappropriate workplace behavior, including sexually suggestive comments to women and a racial comment to a scout, Richardson announced he's selling his 48 percent controlling stake in the Panthers. That seems like confirmation of the report. The report also said Richardson has paid significant money to four former employees to make these issues go away.
Richardson, who is 81 years old and had a heart transplant in 2009, should not be treated any differently than the NFL Network's Marshall Faulk, Heath Evans and Ike Taylor, who were immediately suspended and taken off the air pending an investigation of inappropriate behavior after they were named in a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former network wardrobe stylist. Donovan McNabb and Eric Davis, former NFL Network employees named in the lawsuit, were suspended by ESPN, their current employer. Eric Weinberger, a former NFL Network executive also named, was suspended by The Ringer, where he now works. The NFL has taken over the Richardson investigation from the team but Goodell will look weak if he treats him differently and holds him to different standards. In fact, he should have already suspended him.
Richardson was granted the expansion Panthers franchise in 1993 and they began play in 1995. Of course, Richardson is bailing out and hoping that by selling he can short-circuit and/or provide cover from the league's investigation.
No matter what you think of Goodell, he is too smart to fall for that. In the last three years, he has alienated Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones, two of his confidantes, with investigations that resulted in the lengthy suspensions of Tom Brady and Zeke Elliott. He is not afraid to take on the big guys in the league. Richardson can't be allowed to avoid the embarrassment and the severity of what the investigation will uncover just because he is trying to run away from the Panthers as fast as an 81-year-old man with a new heart can run.
The only surprising thing about the Richardson case and the NFL Network suspensions is it took this long for the nationwide epidemic of inappropriate workplace to hit the NFL. Why would anybody think the NFL would be immune to Harvey Weinstein-itis when it has brought down senators and judges and movie producers and actors? The NFL is a male-dominated, high-profile business with rich men in power. Isn't that the prefect recipe for inappropriate behavior?
Richardson obviously abused his power.
Friday was "Jeans Day" in the Panthers offices and Richardson used the casual dress day to comment on the appearance of the women he employed. Richardson is a big man who surely is an imposing and intimidating figure to his employees.
According to SI, some of his "Jeans Day" comments:
_ "Show me how you wiggle to get those jeans up."
_ "I bet you had to lay down on your bed to fit into those jeans."
_ "Did you step into those jeans or did you have to jump into them."
Wait, unfortunately there's more.
He once invited a female employee to his suite and he showed up barefoot asking for a foot massage. He asked one woman if he could personally shave their legs. And he had what was termed "a seatbelt maneuver," when he would insist on fastening the seatbelt after opening the car door so he could brush across a woman's breasts.
Richardson attended the Panthers' victory at home Sunday against the Packers, sitting in his end zone box with his wife. Right around kickoff, the SI story was posted. Not long after the game, Richardson issued a statement he was selling the team and conveniently made no mention of the SI story nor the NFL investigation.
"I believe that it is time to turn the franchise over to new ownership," he said. "Therefore, I will put the team up for sale at the conclusion of this NFL season. We will not begin the sale process, not will we entertain any inquiries, until the very last game is played. I hope everyone in the organization will be firmly focused on just one mission: To play and win the Super Bowl."
Richardson clearly was not focused on just one mission. He seemed just as intently focused on being a dirty old man. Why would a man perceived as a respected Southern gentleman who is just the second former NFL player to own a team _ George Halas was the first _ and who was given a second chance at life after the gift of a new heart eight years ago, possibly act this way and think it was OK?
He has moved up the previously decided plan for the team to be sold two years after his death. He and his partners paid $206 million to join the league and the Panthers were recently valued by Forbes at $2.3 billion, 21st in the NFL. He forced his sons Mark, the team president, and Jon, the stadium president, out of the organization in 2009.
He fired GM Dave Gettleman on the eve of training camp this year. He insulted Peyton Manning during the 2011 collective bargaining negotiations. That was well known at the time. But SI reported that Richardson said to Manning, "Do I need to help you read a revenue chart, son?"
Richardson broke down and cried in 2014 at an awards dinner when he was honored for his stance against domestic violence even as he was being criticized for the Panthers not suspending woman abuser Greg Hardy.
"When it comes to domestic violence, my stance is not one of indifference. I stand firmly against domestic violence, plain and simple. To those that would suggest we have been too slow to act, I ask that you consider not to be too quick to judge," he said. "Over the course of 20 years, we have worked extremely hard to build an organization of integrity and earn the trust of our community. I work hard to continue to earn that trust and I thank you for this award."
How hollow does his use of the words "integrity" and "trust" sound now?
Richardson was called "Mister" by Panthers employees. There is a statue of him outside the stadium. There is concern now in Charlotte that once the team is free to leave in June of 2019 a new owner could potentially move the Panthers.
Charlotte is a very good market with strong fan support. The team is close to securing a playoff spot.
Goodell must suspend Richardson pending the investigation just as the league did with the NFL Network employees. He must make sure Richardson is not allowed anywhere near the team or its headquarters in the stadium until he sells the team and he can help knock down the statue.
