Tom Talks: Inexcusable words, actions led to statue of Jerry Richardson coming down

Went down to Bank of America Stadium on Thursday morning to see what remained of Jerry Richardson’s statue. Its absence in front of the north gate was as evident as a missing tooth. Ten fences, each about 8-feet long, guarded the concrete pedestal where the statue stood.

Richardson, who founded and owned the Carolina Panthers, sold them in 2018. A story in Sports Illustrated detailed episodes of sexual harassment and racial epithets that he directed at a black scout. The NFL investigated and fined Richardson $2.75 million. Although he turned a nice profit, the league compelled him to sell his team. And he loved his team.

I know Richardson, spent time with him at the stadium, at an NFL conference, in restaurants, in his house, in his back yard. I like him. I never heard him say anything or do anything that implied he was racist or sexist.

But if you use the language he did with the scout or the women who worked for him, how are you anything but racist and sexist?

Richardson, who next month will turn 84, comes from a different time. Like many of his contemporaries, his behavior once would have been as likely to earn a pat on the back as to evoke criticism.

But his peers, the practical ones, anyway, adjusted. They had to, and perhaps wanted to and knew they needed to. Society changes, usually for the better, and perspectives that once were entrenched change, too.

Richardson didn’t merely found and own the Panthers. He was the master, commander and czar. He wasn’t Jerry or Richardson or even sir. He was Mr. Richardson. When he would walk, unannounced, into the office of an underling, and everybody at Bank of America Stadium was an underling, employees stood straight and tall and probably were tempted to salute. Some were nervous, and I’m talking about people you wouldn’t expect to be.

Richardson created his own little world, and his control was such that he felt as if he could say what he wanted to whom he wanted when he wanted. He was free there. Who was going to call him on it?

Well, some employees did, and then the NFL did, and then the public did. You have to account for what you say and do and to whom you say and do it. If you berate a black scout, and use terms that are racist, what’s the defense? If you make some of the women who work for you uncomfortable, what’s the defense?

The days when well, he’s old and didn’t mean anything by it no longer apply, and it’s tough to reach back and remember a time when it did.

The Panthers said they removed Richardson’s statue for safety reasons. They were afraid people would try to take down the 4,500-pound statue. Assuming those people had access to a stealth crane, the Panthers’ claim is valid.

The team got rid of the statue because of the issues for which Richardson has come to be known. Obviously he is much more than a man who spews racist epithets and engages in sexist behavior.

But he did spew a racist epithet, and he did engage in sexist behavior. You don’t get to do what Richardson did and walk away unscathed.

The Panthers say they will not destroy the statue. We don’t know where it is. We know only that it will never return to its former place of prominence.

NASCAR makes right call on flag

Kudos to NASCAR for banning confederate flags from race tracks and races. Enforcing the ban will be a challenge. But to declare the flags unwelcome is courageous. Many old-school fans, fans that have long helped keep the sport afloat, hang the flags from campers, fences, and anywhere they find room.

Imagine being black and showing up at a NASCAR track to race a car, work for NASCAR, be part of a crew, or to watch cars race. Look this way and there’s a confederate flag. Look that way and there’s another. Walk through the infield, and the flags feel as pervasive as Cam Newton or Christian McCaffrey jerseys at a Carolina Panthers game.

What’s the flag stand for? State’s rights. What rights would those be? That would be the right to own slaves.

Why display it at a sporting event? What do you gain? Is it an attempt to show other fans the qualities for which you stand, and hope that they share your philosophy?

Have you listened to driver Bubba Wallace, the only black driver on NASCAR’s premier circuit, Jimmie Johnson, who was long the best driver, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was the sport’s biggest star? Two of the three are from the South. Wallace is from Alabama, and Earnhardt from North Carolina. Johnson is from southern California.

These are enlightened men who have helped shatter stereotypes and push NASCAR into a new and enlightened age.

You won’t be betraying your ancestors if you become, or remain, part of it.