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Anti-Trump billionaire to buy Carolina Panthers, calls president 'demented, narcissistic scumbag'

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Hedge fund manager David Tepper is finalizing a deal to purchase the Carolina Panthers, according to multiple reports.

If approved, he’ll be another strong NFL voice against President Donald Trump, who has battled with the league over the past year, mostly in opposition to its players’ national anthem protests.

Tepper has had very harsh words for the president, saying on CNBC in October 2016 that Trump “may be demented, narcissistic and a scumbag.”

A month later, just before the election, Tepper made another appearance on CNBC. This time he said Trump is “the father of lies” and breaks the “Golden Rule.”

“It says do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” Tepper said. “And that’s not being done with Trump — not at least on the good side. … Listen, Trump masquerades as an angel of light, but he is the father of lies, especially concerned with charity or good deeds.”

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Tepper doubled down on the “scumbag” remark last month in a visit to Carnegie Mellon University, whose business school bears his name following his $55 million donation in 2004.

Do you think David Tepper will be a good NFL owner?

“The economy’s really good right now, despite different things. … Whether I like the person or not I’m not going to get into that — although I did call him a demented, narcissistic scumbag. And if you look up demented, narcissistic scumbag, you’ll see my name calling Trump that. Just Google those three words,” Tepper told a student, according to Sports Illustrated.

ESPN and others reported Tepper’s offer for the Panthers was $2.2 billion, which would set the mark for the highest sale price of an NFL team. The previous record was Terry Pegula’s $1.4 billion purchase of the Buffalo Bills in 2014.

Panthers owner and founder Jerry Richardson announced his plans to sell the team in December after he was accused of sexual harassment by female employees.

Tepper, 60, is founder of the global hedge fund company Appaloosa Management and has a net worth of $11 billion, according to Forbes.

A Pittsburgh native, he has been a minority owner of the Steelers since 2009 and thus has already been vetted and approved by the NFL.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported South Carolina billionaire Ben Navarro put in a higher bid for the Panthers than Tepper, but other team owners had concerns about Navarro’s business practices.

The New York Times reported last month that Navarro was believed to have offered $2.6 billion, “though it is unclear whether he needs the help of other investors to cover that price.”

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Navarro tried but apparently failed to add former NFL star Peyton Manning to his ownership group, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Philadelphia 76ers owner Michael Rubin also bid for the Panthers, and his ownership group reportedly included NBA star Stephen Curry and rapper/entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs.

“I jumped out there to make sure that they understood that they have to consider some black ownership right now with 80 percent, 70 percent of the league being African-American,” Combs said in January, according to TMZ. “It’s just time.”

Former San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick wanted to join the group but apparently was unsuccessful.

Other reported candidates to be primary owners of the Panthers were Bedrock Industries LP CEO Alan Kestenbaum and Brooklyn Nets majority owner Joseph Tsai.

Tepper said he is committed to keeping the team in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Todd Windsor is a senior story editor at The Western Journal. He has worked as an editor or reporter in news and sports for more than 30 years.
Todd Windsor is a senior story editor at The Western Journal. He was born in Baltimore and grew up in Maryland. He graduated from the University of Miami (he dreams of wearing the turnover chain) and has worked as an editor and reporter in news and sports for more than 30 years. Todd started at The Miami News (defunct) and went on to work at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times, The Baltimore Sun and Space News before joining Liftable Media in 2016. He and his beautiful wife have two amazing daughters and a very old Beagle.
Birthplace
Baltimore
Education
Bachelor of Science from the University of Miami
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Media, Sports




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