35°13′36″N80°51′06″W / 35.2266°N 80.8517°W | |
Location | Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. |
---|---|
Designer | Todd Andrews |
Height | 3.96 metres (13.0 ft) |
Dedicated date | 2016 |
Dedicated to | Jerry Richardson |
Dismantled date | June 2020 |
A statue of Jerry Richardson was installed outside Charlotte, North Carolina's Bank of America Stadium in 2016. [1] Richardson, the former owner of the National Football League's Carolina Panthers, was involved in a controversy involving allegedly sexist behavior prior to selling the team. The statue was removed from Bank of America Stadium in June 2020 for fear it would be destroyed by protestors. [2]
The statue was a gift to Richardson, the founding owner of the Carolina Panthers, during his 80th birthday, given by the team's minority ownership partners. [3] [4] It stood 13 feet tall outside the north entrance of Bank of America Stadium, depicting Richardson in a suit holding a football and flanked by two life-sized black panthers with green eyes. [1]
When the U.S. national anthem protests started back in 2016 in response to police brutality, it was reported by numerous Panthers players such as Tre Boston that Richardson prohibited his players from joining the protests. [5] [2] After Richardson was forced to sell the team after the 2017 season following racist and sexist remarks made to team employees in light of the Me Too movement, David Tepper, the new owner, was forced to keep the statue up as a "contractual obligation" of purchasing the Panthers, much to the chagrin of many fans. However, it was taken down and stored in a hidden place by Panthers management in 2020 in light of the George Floyd protests. [6] [7]
Despite no language indicating the fate of the statue, it has been reported that the Panthers organization does not intend on restoring it. Richardson himself also reportedly "moved on" before his death and said that the statue "is not his focus", according to his spokesperson. [8] Boston later commented that the removal of the statue was "best for the community". [1] [5]
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte; which also serves as the team's home field. The Panthers are supported throughout the Carolinas; although the team has played its home games in Charlotte since 1996, it played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, during its first season in 1995.
Bank of America Stadium is a 74,867-seat football stadium located on 33 acres (13 ha) in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is the home facility and headquarters of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in 1996 as Ericsson Stadium, with Swedish telecom company LM Ericsson initially holding the naming rights. In 2004, Charlotte-based financial services company Bank of America purchased the naming rights under a 20-25-year agreement at $140 million. Former Panthers president Danny Morrison called it a "classic American stadium" due to its bowl design and other features.
Jerome Johnson Richardson Sr. was an American businessman, football player, and owner in the National Football League (NFL). A native of Spring Hope, North Carolina, he played college football for the Wofford Terriers and was twice a Little All-America selection. After graduating, he played two seasons in the NFL with the Baltimore Colts.
The Irwin Belk Track and Field Center/Transamerica Field is a stadium located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Finished in 1996, the stadium is home to the Charlotte 49ers soccer and track and field teams.
David Alan Tepper is an American billionaire hedge fund manager. He is the owner of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) and Charlotte FC in Major League Soccer (MLS). Tepper is the founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund based in Miami Beach, Florida.
Cameron Jerrell Newton is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL leader in career quarterback rushing touchdowns and second in career quarterback rushing yards. Following a stint with the Florida Gators, Newton played college football for the Auburn Tigers, where he won the Heisman Trophy and 2011 BCS National Championship Game as a junior. He was selected first overall by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL draft.
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Danny Morrison is the executive director of the Charlotte Sports Foundation and Professor of Practice in the Department of Sport and Entertainment at the University of South Carolina, United States. He was previously the president of the Carolina Panthers and worked extensively in college sports administration.
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McColl–Richardson Field at Jerry Richardson Stadium is a college football stadium in University City, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States and the home field of the Charlotte 49ers football team representing the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The team became a Football Bowl Subdivision member in 2015 and competes in the American Athletic Conference.
The 2014 season was the Carolina Panthers' 20th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth under head coach Ron Rivera.
The 2015 season was the Carolina Panthers' 21st in the National Football League (NFL) and their fifth under head coach Ron Rivera. This season marked the first time in team history they played on Thanksgiving. The Panthers had their best single-season turnaround in team history, going from 7–8–1 to 15–1.
The 2017 season was the Carolina Panthers' 23rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their seventh under head coach Ron Rivera. During the offseason, the team's notable free agent signings included Matt Kalil, Captain Munnerlyn and veteran Julius Peppers. Peppers previously spent his first eight seasons with the Panthers, appearing in Super Bowl XXXVIII with them. On July 17, 2017, the team announced Dave Gettleman had been relieved as general manager. His predecessor, Marty Hurney, was hired as interim general manager a day later. For the first time since 2011, the Panthers did not play the Seattle Seahawks during the regular season. The Panthers rebounded after a disappointing 2016 campaign, where they were the defending NFC champions but finished 6–10 and last in the NFC South. 2017 saw the Panthers qualify for the playoffs with an 11–5 record. However, they lost to the Saints 31–26 in the Wild Card round.
Charlotte FC is an American professional men's soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise on December 17, 2019. It began play in the 2022 MLS season as the league's 28th franchise. Charlotte FC plays at Bank of America Stadium, which it shares with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, a team also owned by Tepper; the stadium capacity is reduced to 38,000 for most matches.
This is a list of George Floyd protests in North Carolina, United States.
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