NFL World Reacts to Video of Panthers Owner David Tepper Confronting Restaurant Manager
The restaurant put up a sign critical of Tepper ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.
An unusual story surrounding the Carolina Panthers surfaced ahead of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night. A few hours before the first round was set to begin, a report emerged that team owner David Tepper and a restaurant manager met over a sign critical of his past decision-making.
The sign outside of Dilworth Neighborhood Bar and Grill read "Please let the coach & GM pick this year." It was a reference to Tepper's well-documented tendency to insert himself into football operations decisions. A manager at the restaurant told ESPN Panthers reporter David Newton that Tepper had come inside to talk about it but didn't seem "visibly upset."
On Friday, the owner of the bar and grill released footage of Tepper's interaction with the manager. In the video, Tepper walks in and takes the manager's hat off (reportedly a Philadelphia Eagles cap) before holding a brief discussion. At the end of the short video, Tepper shakes hands with the the man before walking out.
It is another bizarre chapter in Tepper's rocky tenure as owner of the Panthers. The NFL world had strong opinions on it. Especially the hat aspect.
As noted several times above, Tepper's track record with fan interactions is not great. Near the end of the 2023 season he was caught on video throwing a drink at a fan in the stands as the Panthers were shutout by the Jacksonville Jaguars. This incident is certainly far from controversial, but an NFL team owner probably should have bigger priorities on draft night.
Carolina was without a first round pick due to the much-maligned Bryce Young trade. As a result, the Panthers wound up trading for the No. 32 pick in order to select Xavier Legette out of South Carolina.
