CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There has been a renewed push to rename Jerry Richardson Stadium at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The 49er student government association unanimously approved a resolution Thursday night requesting the university consider the change. They point to the allegations of misconduct leveled against Richardson while he was the owner of the Carolina Panthers, which included sexual harassment and racially insensitive comments.
Richardson Stadium was named after him when he promised a $10 million donation to the college football program in 2013. The contract said his name will stay on the stadium forever.
Channel 9 asked a member of the student government association what they expect to happen based on the contract.
“That’s why the legislation that I drafted up centers around exploring the possibility. We’re not demanding that anything necessarily happen, we’re not demanding the school get into a legal fight that especially surround(s) the statue at Bank of America Stadium,” said UNCC rising junior Richard Beekman. “Richardson has expressed a desire to move past that statue. Basically we’re hoping the school can reach out to Mr. Richardson and his legal camp and see if they are open to the possibility (of addressing) the very legitimate student concerns that have been presented to us.”
A week ago, a statue of Jerry Richardson outside the Bank of America Stadium was removed. The Carolina Panthers cited concerns about it being torn down as a reason for moving it.
In the past, the team’s new owner David Tepper has said he was contractually obligated to keep it there, but it’s unclear when that contract ends or if the decision to move it last week is a breach of the contract.
Some have suggested renaming the UNCC stadium Parlier-Howell Memorial Stadium to honor Reed Parlier and Riley Howell, the students killed in a campus shooting in 2019.
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