The bad stretch for statues of old southern men rolls on.
Two years after former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was forced to sell the team amid allegations of sexual harassment and racist remarks to employees, his statue outside Bank of American Stadium, which has been standing since 2016, is being removed. Joe Bruno of WSOC-TV in Charlotte was the first to report the news.
Richardson sold the Panther to current owner David Tepper, who told reporters he was “contractually obligated” to keep the statue in place as a part of his agreement to buy the team. It appears Tepper has found a way around that obligations.
BREAKING: A source just confirmed the Jerry Richardson statue at Bank of America Stadium is being moved to an undisclosed location because of public safety concerns
My colleague @JoeBrunoWSOC9 first reported the statue’s removal via The Dpt. of Transportation @wsoctv #NFL pic.twitter.com/0x0H9U0IsE
— DaShawn Brown (@DaShawnWSOC9) June 10, 2020
The Panthers said the statue is coming down to prevent possible vandalism.
We were aware of the most recent conversation surrounding the Jerry Richardson statue and are concerned there may be attempts to take it down. We are moving the statue in the interest of public safety.
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) June 10, 2020
Richardson also made a “statement” that didn’t say much at all.
Statement from Jim Gray, a spokesman for Jerry Richardson: pic.twitter.com/3zqaUGGxHy
— Michael Stolp (@StolpWSOC9) June 10, 2020
Given the timing and the events of the past few weeks across the country, it’s hard to imagine this doesn’t have anything to do with the behavior that led to Richardson being forced to sell the team.
Like every other NFL team, the Panthers put out a statement last week condemning racism in the wake of George Floyd’s death. It would have been awfully hard to take that statement seriously with a 13-foot statue of an accused racist standing outside of the stadium.
Whether or not the Panthers will re-erect the statue when these “safety concerns” are alleviated is unclear. Whether or not they should is very clear, however.