CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ If you care about the NFL, the first round of the NFL draft usually feels a little like Christmas in April.
But it didn't feel like that Thursday afternoon, and that had nothing to do with what the Carolina Panthers were planning to do in their draft room a few hours later. It had everything to do, however, with Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, another round of sexual harassment allegations from Sports Illustrated and an explosive accusation that the ongoing NFL investigation of Richardson is a "farce."
So it was hard to enjoy the run-up to the draft, because there was this vague sense of creepiness emanating from Bank of America Stadium. When the hometown team and a cadre of loyal employees has allegedly coddled, protected and cleaned up the messes of its 81-year-old owner for so many years, whether the Panthers pick a wide receiver or a cornerback in the first round doesn't seem so important anymore.
And here's the thing that may be the most disconcerting: We may never really know exactly what Richardson did. Not even close.
That's because _ according to this Sports Illustrated report based on a series of letters written by a former female Panthers employee who alleges she was sexually harassed multiple times by Richardson _ the NFL probe has no real power.
The unnamed former Panthers employee wrote in Sports Illustrated that she wants to talk to lead investigator Mary Jo White, but has not been able to because the employee signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of a financial settlement paid to her.
