Yes, the Panthers are bad. But is banning Tepper from Matthews really the answer?
Ken McCool, Mayor Pro Tem of Matthews, tweeted Sunday suggesting Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule, owner David Tepper and quarterback Baker Mayfield should be banned from the city.
The tweet followed the Panthers’ 37-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday and preceded Tepper’s decision to fire Rhule on Monday.
McCool’s tweet was a harmless attempt at humor. But, suppose he meant business. Would he have the authority to do that?
Not exactly.
The North Carolina Supreme Court set a precedent in 1953 that stated mayors, or any member of local and state government for that matter, do not have the authority to ban individuals from a town, city or county located in North Carolina.
The ruling comes from the case of State v. Doughtie involving a defendant who faced criminal charges and was ordered to leave the state for two years. That decision was eventually appealed.
“In North Carolina, a court has no power to pass a sentence of banishment, and if it does so, the sentence is void,” the court stated. “The suspension of sentence on condition that defendant leave the State and not re-enter its boundaries for a period of two years is a sentence of banishment and is void as contrary to public policy.”
Sixteen states around the country have statutes included in their constitutions that prohibit banishment, Slate reported. However, in states like Tennessee and Maryland, a ban is an acceptable form of punishment.
Even then, those court-sanctioned consequences would only come as punishment for extreme or criminal offenses, according to each state’s respective constitution.
Tepper, Rhule and Mayfield reside in a state where banishment isn’t legal and being responsible for the Panthers’ 1-4 start is not a punishable crime by the law’s standard.
Rhule, Tepper and Mayfield could still experience exile from Matthews in a different way, however.
Hypothetically speaking, businesses in Matthews could ban the trio from ever stepping foot onto their property, per federal law. However, the proprietors would have to formally inform them in person with a witness, or through a certified letter sent to the local police department.
Publicly-accessed properties, like stores and restaurants, are often viewed as public property because the selling of merchandise is perceived as an invitation to enter the premises. But just because a place is open to the public does not mean that it is public property.
Cornell Law defines private property as “essentially anyone or anything other than the government,” which includes commercial businesses. People or private entities who own property have the legal right to manage and control it.
This means that North Carolina’s barring of banishment does not apply to business owners.
So long as their reasons don’t refer to a federally protected classification such as race, color, religion or sex, business owners in Matthews have the legal right to ban Rhule, Tepper and Mayfield.
This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
