Richardson has declined to release parties from the terms and conditions of their NDAsGETTY IMAGES
Four months since the NFL launched an independent investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct by Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson, there has been "no word of findings" from lead investigator Mary Jo White, or even a "timetable of when they might be expected," according to SI.com. Encapsulating just how "dramatically the power of owners trumps the power of the league itself, Richardson has declined to release parties from the terms and conditions of their NDAs." In multiple instances "complainants are willing -- eager, even -- to share their experiences with White." But they are "unwilling to do so if it means jeopardizing their financial payouts." White "lacks the authority to give them the immunity they seek or to compel Richardson to cooperate." One former Panthers employee allegedly "harassed by Richardson has decided to speak out." The former employee wrote, "My attorney spoke with Mary Jo White to let her know that I was willing to cooperate with the investigation that you had given to her. Ms. White said she would like to hear my truth, but neither she nor you could protect me from the penalties of breaching my NDA." The former employee: "You have zero power, and that makes your investigation a farce" (SI.com, 4/26). In Charlotte, Joseph Person in a front-page piece noted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and league officials "have said little about the investigation in subsequent four months." Goodell at the owners meetings in March said that he "hadn’t spoken to White in a month" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/27). Also in Charlotte, Scott Fowler writes there is a "vague sense of creepiness emanating from Bank of America Stadium." The thing that may be the "most disconcerting: We may never really know exactly what Richardson did." Fowler: "Not even close" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/27).
