What was first reported as a sort of casual, “Oh he wasn’t that mad!” exchange turned out to be a full-blown petty kerfuffle in which Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper took issue with a sign outside a local Charlotte restaurant that criticized his personnel-meddling leadership style.
The four-letter network reporter initially suggested, I swear to you, that Tepper wasn’t all that put off by the big-lettered sign outside of Dilworth Neighborhood Bar and Grill that read, “Please let the coach & GM pick this year.”
Not only was that immediately contradicted by somebody on the scene…
According to Brock and another listener, David Tepper was upset about Dilworth Neighborhood Grille’s latest message. DNG has posted several messages aimed at Tepper and the Panthers in the past couple of years. https://t.co/Tn7X9ZGHAy
— Kyle Bailey (@KyleBaileyClub) April 26, 2024
…But we have video. That’s right. Security camera footage shows Tepper waltz into the establishment, clearly irked by the messaging on the sign.
He then proceeds to remove the man’s hat? It kind of looks like Eagles gear. As if he doesn’t deserve to wear it, nor does he deserve to criticize an owner who’s presided over a team that’s posted a 31-69 record on his watch.
'LET THE COACH AND GM PICK' 🏈: Surveillance footage captured the moment @Panthers owner David Tepper walked into a Charlotte restaurant after a sign was put up prior to the NFL Draft.
Full story: https://t.co/tYPhlekttU pic.twitter.com/tc0eihPAkT
— WBTV News (@WBTV_News) April 26, 2024
The sign’s translation is simple. More or less, it reads: Hey D-Tepps, don’t sell the farm for Bryce Young or some such other stupid sh*t again. Let your football people, personnel executives, and scouting department worry about roster building. Let your coaches, you know, coach. Don’t give “constructive” feedback on their play-calling with your own arbitrary data. Basic successful owner behavior.
It bears repeating that Tepper threw a drink on an opposing fan this past season. Bonus anecdote attached to the grisly video of that scene: A lovely little musing Tepper once had about the plebs beneath him who work in the service industry.
David Tepper paid $40 million to the ex-wife of his former boss for his Hamptons house and then tore it down to build a mansion twice as big.
He also once said that when a waiter is rude to him, he thinks “I could just buy this place and fire that guy.”
This behavior isn’t new. https://t.co/8b5A2N2OZ7
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) December 31, 2023
You’d think a billionaire of Tepper’s status wouldn’t stoop to such levels. Maybe have a little thicker skin. Clearly, this man-baby spent his entire life on a monomaniacal quest for avarice and could never quite quench his thirst. Because it was never enough. And it’ll never be enough for Tepper. And even if/when he starts winning in the NFL — barring an about-face in mental makeup/personality in his mid-to-late 60s — it still won’t be enough.
Somebody who treats people this sh*tty, or can’t laugh at themselves and projects compensatory cruelty onto others, has something fundamentally broken inside of them that can’t be easily fixed. Drown it in as much workaholicism as you want, Dave. Hoard all your money and status and fame and dangle it over everybody like the big shot you are. I know you’re 500 times the man I could ever be on your net worth alone.
Strutting around and bullying people who take a shot at you for being a bad NFL owner is severe Micro P*nis Energy, sir. Get a grip, consider an apology maybe once in your damn life, and reevaluate your whole paradigm of how you move through the world and how you respect your fellow human.
Bryce Young’s dad, Craig, is a mental health therapist. Since you, Mr. Tepper, were so smitten with their whole vibe enough to mortgage the future and gift-wrap a far superior QB prospect in Caleb Williams to the Chicago Bears at No. 1 overall, along with the only WR1 you had, maybe you could get Craig Young on the horn. Talk about your feelings. Perhaps scratch the surface of the seemingly bottomless pit that is your dark, cold, lizard-brained soul. Shed those slimy scales of sludgy greed, and work toward bettering yourself for the rest of your natural life. Bryce Young and Panthers fans everywhere thank you kindly in advance.
Till that day comes — and I’m not hanging in suspense for whenever it hypothetically would — stop being such an insufferable prick.
And if you don’t buy any of this armchair psychology that seems fairly textbook and self-evident to me, you’re a numbers/bottom-line guy, right Davey? Read ’em and weep.
Updated look at last year's Panthers-Bears trade:
Bears receive:
🏈 WR DJ Moore
🏈 2023 first-round pick (OT Darnell Wright)
🏈 2023 second-round pick (CB Tyrique Stevenson)
🏈 2024 first-round pick (QB Caleb Williams)
🏈 2025 second-round pickPanthers receive:
🏈 2023 No. 1…— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2024
