How Dave Tepper continues to alienate the Carolina Panthers fanbase
Has David Tepper lost trust?
The first notable thing David Tepper did to fracture the fanbase that no one thought was the right move, or at the very least fair, was cutting franchise legend, Cam Newton.
Tepper and the franchise released Newton in March 2020 after battling injuries, right when COVID-19 first arrived on the scene. This left the former NFL MVP powerless with little to no options of where to play in the 2021 season.
Thankfully for Newton, he got an opportunity to play for Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots and he was able to salvage his career.
Newton is regarded among many Carolina Panthers fans as the greatest player in franchise history. To do him dirty as they did is almost unforgivable.
Thankfully, Newton and Panthers fans got some closure last season with him returning for the second half of the campaign. But this even comes with speculation that Tepper did it to sell more tickets and get supporters in seats, as many games in Charlotte last season had a lot of road fans.
Cutting Newton and in the way the Panthers did was a big mistake. Even if Tepper signed him for closure, many Panthers fans still will not be able to forgive the owner for what he allowed to happen.
In the first year as team owner of the Panthers, Tepper was adamant about wanting an MLS team in Charlotte. Earlier in March, he seemed very excited about Charlotte FC’s home opener.
Some Panthers fans took this as a sign of him caring more about Charlotte FC’s success than the Panthers’ success, and rightfully so. Tepper has not publically shown this level of enthusiasm about Carolina when they play, at least not lately.
Indirectly this tells Panthers fans that Tepper either cares more about his shiny new toy, or he is simply just excited about making more money, and he is indifferent about the Panthers’ success.
Tepper and the Panthers organization recently delayed construction on their new Rock Hill practice facility because of a disagreement between them and the city on financing. The billionaire trying to strongarm the town into putting more resources into the project is something that will not sit well with the government in and around the area, further fracturing the trust element of his tenure.
Furthermore, Panthers fans might see this as a sign of Tepper not being fully committed to the cause and their goals on the field. His attempt to save some money whilst delaying an important component to the team’s success is a sign of this and supporters are right to draw their own conclusions.