Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson is being investigated for alleged workplace misconduct, the team announced on Friday.
“The Carolina Panthers and Mr. Richardson take these allegations very seriously and are fully committed to a full investigation and taking appropriate steps to address and remediate any misconduct,” team spokesman Steven Drummond said in a statement released on the Panthers’ website. “The entire organization is fully committed to ensuring a safe, comfortable and diverse work environment where all individuals, regardless of sex, race, color, religion, gender, or sexual identity or orientation, are treated fairly and equally. We have work to do to achieve this goal, but we are going to meet it.”
The specific nature of the allegations has not been released.
The team says that the “investigation is being led by the outside international law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan, LLP, and will be overseen by limited owner and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles.”
Richardson, 81, played football for the Baltimore Colts and used some of his money to co-found Hardee’s, which helped him develop his fortune. He was approved as an owner of the Panthers in 1993. The expansion team first began playing in the NFL in 1995.
