JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Panthers billionaire owner David Tepper threw the contents of a drink into the visiting crowd near the end of Carolina’s 26-0 loss at Jacksonville on Sunday.
Tepper’s reaction came after rookie Bryce Young was intercepted with less than 3 minutes to play. It was unclear whether Tepper was reacting to something said to him or the latest miscue for the team with the NFL’s worst record.
General manager Scott Fitterer was standing near Tepper when he tossed the remnants of his drink while watching the game from an open-air club suite. According to Forbes, Tepper had a net worth of $16.7 billion as of 2022 and is the third richest owner in the NFL.
Looks like Panthers owner David Tepper threw a drink into the crowd…pic.twitter.com/dP9zEmbyrz
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 31, 2023
Christy Honsberger, who recorded the video, told News4JAX on Monday that her phone has been “blowing up” since she posted the video to Instagram.
“I’m over it,” she wrote in a message to News4JAX. “I will say 99% of the replies from Panthers fans have been “thank you” apparently they’re not a fan of their owner.”
In the past, the NFL has fined owners for things like this especially if they are caught publicly on video.
Tepper has had a cavalier history.
A New York Magazine story from 2010 said Tepper has been know to say, “if someone is an asshole, like a waiter at a restaurant, I think, I could just buy this place and fire that guy.” A Washington Post story published after he bought the team in 2018 said he paid $43.5 million for a beachfront mansion of a former Goldman Sachs supervisor who had passed him over for promotion. Then he had the house demolished.
There’s also a question of whether Tepper broke the law. Gene Nichols is a veteran Jacksonville defense lawyer who said this could be considered battery.
“So what would have to happen is the fan would have to come to the sheriff’s office or the state attorney’s office because in order to have a battery you have to have a victim,” Nichols said.
And Tepper has dealt with some backlash from hometown fans in the past. On Change.org, there are numerous petitions complaining about him and the latest one references the drink-throwing incident and wants to force him to sell the team.
The Panthers have yet to publicly comment on the incident.
The Panthers (2-14) dropped to 0-9 on the road and were shut out for the first time since losing to Atlanta in Week 12 in 2002. They also clinched the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft in April — a selection that will go to Chicago.
Nothing went right in this one for Carolina and had Jacksonville not gone 1 for 5 scoring in the red zone, the outcome likely would have been way more lopsided.
Bryce Young completed 19 of 32 passes for 112 yards, with an interception, and was sacked six times. He now has been sacked a whopping 59 times.
“Yeah, not fun. Not fun at all,” Young said. “It’s on us. It’s what we put out. It’s our tape. It’s what we did. We own it, accept it. It is what it is, but it’s not fun.”
Carolina had issues before the coin flip.
Kicker Eddy Pineiro injured his right hamstring in pregame warmups and was unable to go. Starting linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill handled the opening kickoff, and interim coach Chris Tabor kept his offense on the field for a fourth-and-7 play in normal field-goal range on the team’s opening drive.
Young was sacked and took a shot to his back. He spent several minutes getting checked on the sideline and returned in time for the next series.
“Obviously when there’s only one kicker on your 48, that’s a tough deal,” Tabor said.
Cornerback Jaycee Horn (toe) also was a late scratch after going through warmups. Horn had been scheduled to play, and Tabor even made CJ Henderson inactive. But Horn couldn’t go, so Shaquill Griffin was thrust into the starting lineup.
Griffin was burned for a 48-yard gain, part of a lackluster performance all around for the visitors.
“I’m disappointed, obviously, and that’s a pretty generic answer,” Tabor said. “Did not see it coming. I will tip my hat to the Jaguars. The way we were trending, I did not see this performance coming down.
“We never got on track. We talked a lot about starting fast this week, and we did not do that. ... How are you going to deal with it? There’s only two choices: It’s either character or compromise. Those are questions for everybody.”
The Panthers had more injury issues during the game. Guard Cade Mays left with a finger injury and then linebacker Marquis Haynes, a sixth-year pro who grew up in Jacksonville, was carted off the field in the third quarter with a concussion. He was taken to a hospital for further testing and did not fly home with the team.
Haynes flashed a thumbs-up sign to the crowd as he left the stadium. It was one of the few occasions Carolina fans had to cheer.
The Panthers finished with 124 yards, were 1 of 13 on third down and had defensive lineman Derrick Brown ejected along with Jacksonville left tackle Cam Robinson late in the fourth. They ripped off each other's helmets after a play.
“Missed opportunities. Just execution top to bottom,” Young said. “There’s a long list of stuff I’ve got to do better, and then offensively we all take responsibility. We all look in the mirror, and I think ‘disconnected’ is a good word.
“Just wasn’t executing, wasn’t translating, and as far as the offense, that’s on me.”
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