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Former employee airs out complaints against Panthers owner in letters to SI

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A former Carolina Panthers employee who said she was harassed by owner Jerry Richardson spoke out in a series of letters to Sports Illustrated.

The letters target Richardson, the NFL, Panthers coach Ron Rivera and others.

[LINK: Sports Illustrated's story on allegations against Jerry Richardson]

Also included in the Sports Illustrated article is a series of disturbing handwritten notes the former employee says were given to her by Richardson.

In the first letter of the article, the woman explains why she’s speaking out now.

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Last month, Houston Texans owner Bob McNair said publicly that Richardson spoke to owners candidly about his side of the allegations of sexual harassment and racism against him.

She said that opened the door to void the non-disclosure agreement she signed.

“Your comments on March 25, which affirmed you still have no clue or compassion in regard to sexual harassment and racism, also let me know that Jerry Richardson broke the non-disclosure agreement he had signed with me,” she said in a letter to Sports Illustrated.

In her letter to Richardson, she said she didn’t know what to do when Richardson started leaving her suggestive handwritten notes.

She goes into more allegations before writing to Richardson, “Do you realize how much you hurt me?”

“As the owner of the Carolina Panthers, you created a work environment that discriminated against women—in a field that is already inherently gender-biased,” she wrote. “As a female Panthers staffer who worked directly in football, unlike males who worked directly in football, I was not allowed in the locker room, weight room or team hallways. I was not allowed to eat in the football lunchroom, was not given a staff locker, was not allowed to fly on the team plane. I was not given team attire, was not allowed at practice, was not paid equally.”

She then went on to write, “Fear and intimidation abound in the environment you created. So does sexual harassment."

At the end, she signed the letter, “Sincerely, a Jerry Richardson victim still too afraid.”

Sports Illustrated said they gave Richardson and the Panthers a chance to respond.

Richardson did not respond.

The Panthers released this statement:

“Since December 2017, when we commenced an internal investigating into allegations of workplace misconduct, the organization has taken the appropriate steps to remediate any misconduct and ensure a safe and comfortable work environment. These claims are very serious and we have cooperated with the NFL’s investigation and remain fully committed to improving every facet of our organization. Because this matter continues to be under and ongoing legal review, we will not comment publicly on the specifics of the allegations, but we do feel compelled to establish what we are doing to provide a healthy work environment.

“Tina Becker was named COO in December, and immediately began working towards addressing the issues. The team allocated significant resources towards reforming our workplace, restructured executive responsibilities and added a comprehensive training program on harassment and diversity and inclusion issues. We have overhauled our related policies and procedures, including improvements in our reporting to the league, all to make certain those concerns and can feel comfortable doing so, we have instituted several new employee programs, all aimed at creating an environment in which our staff can feel proud to work.”

Cox Media Group

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