NFL Exec VP/Communications Joe Lockhart said that the league "did not exert pressure" on Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson to "sell the franchise after he was accused of workplace misconduct," according to Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. Lockhart: "There was no pressure from the league. ... He came to the conclusion over the weekend that putting the team up for sale was what he wanted to do." Richardson's decision to sell "coincides with the NFL investigating allegations against him." Lockhart said that to "his knowledge, the league was not aware of the settlements" Richardson reached with four former employees at the time they were settled. Lockhart: "I don’t believe the league was. But certainly that is an area the investigation will look into." Meanwhile, Lockhart said that the NFL "wants to see the franchise remain in Charlotte." The Panthers are "committed to stay there" through next season. Lockhart: "It’s very important that franchises, particularly ones that have achieved the success of the Panthers, stay where they are playing" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/22). The AP's Steve Reed noted the NFL outlined the way by which the Panthers franchise would "change hands under new ownership." A new controlling owner is "required to individually own at least" 30% of equity. A new owner also "needs to be able to demonstrate financial wherewithal to acquire and effectively operate the team." The NFL plans to "hire an outside counsel to conduct the Richardson investigation, but a final decision has not been made on which firm" (AP, 12/21). Lockhart said the investigation "would not include" NFL Special Counsel Lisa Friel, who was "hired by the league to help with domestic violence investigations," such as the one involving then-Panthers DE Greg Hardy in '14 (ESPN.com, 12/21).
TIME TO COOPERATE: In Charlotte, Joseph Person notes the Panthers’ "failure to report the settlements could be a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy." Lockhart said that the league "expects the Panthers to cooperate whenever the investigation begins (he did not mention a timeline)." Lockhart: "Failure to cooperate has its own set of consequences and potential discipline. So I don’t see any reason why everyone there won’t cooperate. I don’t want to anticipate non-cooperation" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/22).
READY FOR A NEW YEAR: THE ATHLETIC's Don Banks wrote, "Richardson’s fall from grace in Carolina due to an investigation into his inappropriate workplace behavior perfectly underlines where the NFL finds itself as 2017 draws to a close: smack dab in the middle of almost every major controversy swirling throughout American society." As the NFL’s "annus horribilis ends, it seems fitting that the national moment of reckoning regarding sexual harassment reached the league and, in essence, forced Richardson to surrender team ownership, because the NFL hasn’t been immune to any of the issues that dominated the nation’s attention span and conversation this year." The "stunning demise of Richardson, on top of the revelations earlier this month of a long-standing culture of sexual harassment at the league-owned NFL Network, just adds to the feeling that it has been a year unlike any other in the NFL’s 98-season existence" (THEATHLETIC.com, 12/21).
