Accused Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson Will Sell Team, As Sean Combs Launches Bid To Be First NFL Black Owner
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A Seatbelt Maneuver Blows Up
America's post-Weinstein sexual-harassment/sexual assault reckoning reached the NFL over the weekend, in a series of swift moves that culminated in Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardsonannouncing that he will sell his franchise at the end of the season.
“I believe that it is time to turn the franchise over to new ownership,” Richardson said. “Therefore, I will put the team up for sale at the conclusion of this NFL season. We will not begin the sale process, nor will we entertain any inquiries, until the very last game is played. I hope everyone in this organization, both on and off the field, will be firmly focused on just one mission: to play and win the Super Bowl.”
On Sunday rapper and music mogul Sean Combs, aka P Diddy, took to Twitter saying that he would like to buy the Panthers, promising to be "the best NFL owner that you can imagine". Diddy promised to consider hiring Colin Kaepernick, who launched the NFL's players feud with President Trump, and was at the center of NFL players taking a knee worldwide.
If Diddy were to own the Panthers by himself, he would become the league's first majority African-American owner. Our instincts say that the list of African American sports players who would join an ownership syndicate run by Diddy is huge. So he can raise the money.
Back that with a national social media campaign with Americans of every skin color supporting this bid, and Diddy's group would have the upper hand, leaving the NFL owners to fight sexual harassment allegations in the league, the Colin Kaepernick ongoing story and a Trumpian/post-Charlottesville mindset among progressives that would trash the NFL owners beyond belief if the league retained its white owners status.
