If you thought it was over, it isn’t.
Richardson requested female employees to visit him during a workday in his suite inside Bank of America Stadium.
One former female employee recalls Richardson, who stands 6’3″, arriving barefoot and asking for a foot massage.
Says one such invitee: “The first time, you thought it was an important meeting with the owner. You [then] realized it was never anything that couldn’t be discussed over the phone.” Others talk of Richardson giving back rubs that lingered too long or went too low down the spine.
Richardson was also known for what multiple women call the “seatbelt maneuver.” He would invite female employees out to lunch, and in keeping with his reputation as a self-styled gentleman, he would open the car door for his guests. Once they were seated, however, he would insist on fastening their seatbelt for them, reaching across their lap and brushing his hand across their breasts before putting the belt in the clasp.
But multiple former employees told SI that there were also occasional racial overtones in Richardson’s interactions with his workers. Pressed for specifics, they cite everything from Richardson’s expressed preference that black players not wear dreadlocks to an alleged request that an African-American employee apply sunblock to Richardson’s face. After drafting Newton in 2011, Richardson memorably asked the player, “Did you get crazy after the draft and go out and get any tattoos or piercings? Do I have to check you for anything?”
Perceptions of casual racism hardened recently when, multiple sources told SI, Richardson directed a racial slur at an African-American scout for the Panthers.
None of this is shocking and expect more of this to come.