A day after the Carolina Panthers removed the statue of former team owner Jerry Richardson, the team now reportedly plans to never put it back out at Bank of America Stadium.
Carolina Panthers permanently remove statue of Jerry Richardson
After removing the statue on Wednesday, the team put out a statement suggesting it was removed to protect it from being taken down by citizens. Out of that fear, with the potential risk it could fall over and hurt people, the team relocated it on their own.
Now, per The Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler, the statue of the Panthers’ former team owner will be put away permanently. The organization is temporarily storing it inside Bank of America Stadium, but it is reportedly expected to be relocated soon to a storage facility.
When new Panthers owner David Tepper bought the team from Richardson, he said he was “contractually obligated” to keep Richardson’s statue at the stadium.
While the controversial statue is now gone, Richardson doesn’t plan to file a lawsuit against Tepper. In its place, Richardson’s reputation of disgraceful acts will be the only thing people remember.