Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/News
NewsRaceSports

NFL Fines Ex-Panthers Owner $2.75M After Sexual and Racial Misconduct Review

Posted byBy Associated Press | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson

CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 14: Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson on the field before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium on December 14, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The NFL has fined former Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson $2.75 million following its investigation into sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace.

The league said Thursday the investigation conducted by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White substantiated allegations against Richardson, that the improper conduct was limited to Richardson and that the team failed to report the allegations or any resolution agreements to the league.

The league also says most of the money will go toward organizations that address racial- and gender-based issues in and outside the workplace.

Richardson put the team up for sale after a Sports Illustrated report in December that cited unnamed sources who said Richardson made sexually suggestive comments to women and on at least one occasion directed a racial slur at an African-American Panthers scout.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top