Update on Panthers investigation? NFL commissioner says he hasn’t gotten one, either

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday at the league’s annual meetings that he has not been updated on the investigation into Carolina Panthers owner and founder Jerry Richardson in a month.

The investigation is being led by Mary Jo White, an independent attorney who also led the New Orleans Saints “Bountygate” investigation.

“She is at work,” said Goodell. “I haven’t heard from her in the last 30 days or so. But when she has completed her investigation, I will meet with her and you all will be aware of it also.”

Goodell added that the team sale process was “moving along with unprecedented interest.” A recent report by the New York Times said that the current bids that have been made by three of the four known bidders – Ben Navarro, David Tepper and Michael Rubin – that range from $2 billion to $2.2 billion.

While some team owners were briefed this week on updates in the sale process and were forthcoming with estimations of a timeline, not much is publicly known about the current progress of the investigation into allegations of sexual and racial workplace misconduct by Richardson.

Richardson, 81, announced the sale of the team in December after a Sports Illustrated report detailed the allegations, including four significant financial settlements to victims of the reported misconduct. He has not commented on the report or the allegations.

White was hired in January.

A sale can happen before the investigation reaches its conclusion, and Goodell and some owners estimated that a finalist would be presented for a vote at the spring league meetings in Atlanta from May 21-23.

Goodell said the findings of the investigation would be made public upon the investigation’s conclusion.

But league spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Observer after the press conference that the NFL would release more of a general statement of the investigation’s results, rather than specific revelations.

“It would be consistent with what we have done with other reports,” said McCarthy. “It would be some type of statement that would be made available.”

This story was originally published March 28, 2018 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Update on Panthers investigation? NFL commissioner says he hasn’t gotten one, either."