Panthers’ Owner Pours Gasoline On The Fire

Yahoo Sports is reporting Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson took pot-shots at Saints' Quarterback Drew Brees and New Orleans native Peyton Manning at a meeting on february 5th. Apparently, Richardson was particularly sarcastic when Manning started to talk about players’ safety. At one point, Richardson evidently said, “What do you know about player safety?” 

Richardson was unavailable for comment. A league source denied that there was any contentious discussion between the team owner and anyone from the union’s side.

“Mr. Richardson is a former player and made clear his respect and affection for the players during the meeting,” the source said.

While negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA have historically been marked by contentious moments, Richardson’s outburst may be especially telling for the players.

“If he’s willing to talk to [Manning] and [Brees] that way, what do you think it says about what he and the other owners think about the rest of the players?” the source said, rhetorically. “Now, it really only matters if [Richardson] is representing the opinion of 23 or even eight other owners, but it has to make you wonder.”       http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-richardsonmanning021311