Right now, the NFL world is focused on the Super Bowl. Soon enough, the football news cycle will turn the page to focusing on player movement, coming up in March. Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper finally has a playoff team for the first time since purchasing the team in 2018. Yet, now it’s time to make sure the Panthers not only return to the postseason in 2026 but also surpass expectations again.
While Tepper’s Panthers will surely have another busy offseason while seeking roster upgrades, the Panthers owner recently opened up about one of his most infamous incidents, when he threw a drink at an NFL fan’s face during a game.
A bit different of a mood from him after the game https://t.co/DP68vKx1U5 pic.twitter.com/llOqHXS4yI
— med (@med_904) December 31, 2023
The incident occurred two years ago during a Panthers road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, in which a fan had been, according to Tepper, trash-talking him all game long. Tepper told The Pat McAfee Show that he’d finally had enough when the fan started in on an injured Panthers player.
Tepper did his best to try to ignore the unprofessional comment from the spectator, but chirping about an injured player is where he drew the line.
“I was walking away, our player — Marquis Haynes — got knocked out on the field,” Tepper said. “The people had been harassing us the whole game, harassing, harassing, harassing. I’m just like, walk away, walk away, walk away. The guy said, ‘Get your frickin’ player off the field.’ I couldn’t take it anymore.
The NFL later fined Tepper $300,000 for the incident, but we hadn’t gotten much of an explanation from Tepper, until now.
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