David Tepper's redemption tour was going so well. Until it wasn't.
The Carolina Panthers' owner stayed in the shadows under another new football regime. Tepper trusted Dan Morgan, Brandt Tilis, and Dave Canales enough to run the football operation as they saw fit. He offered advice when needed, but the meddling and constant craving for media attention were long gone.
Tepper is also giving the project time. He's bullish about the future and believes the Panthers are on the right path. Lessons have been taken on board, which brought some much-needed stability to a franchise typically known for dysfunction under his leadership.
More importantly, Tepper was (slowly) winning back the good graces of some fans. But as has typically been the case since he arrived, there's always some blunder that gives everyone cause to pause.
David Tepper draws Carolina Panthers fan fury, proclaims Charlotte a soccer town
The latest example came courtesy of a tone-deaf comment that left Panthers fans stunned. Tepper, who also owns MLS side Charlotte FC, proudly proclaimed that Charlotte was now a soccer town, highlighting the number of fans who've visited Bank of America Stadium since the team's inception and the hope for the future thanks to the World Cup coming to the USA in 2026.
David Tepper, owner of the #Panthers and #CharlotteFC, calls Charlotte “a soccer city” and adds that 3 million soccer fans have come to Bank of America Stadium since 2022 and that over 20 million minutes of youth/grassroots soccer have been logged since then. pic.twitter.com/SDnWciAc0s
— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) July 16, 2025
That's called lighting the blue touch paper. Once the comments were filmed and posted by Alex Zietlow from The Charlotte Observer, it didn't take long for the vitriol to descend on social media.
If Tepper believes that Charlotte is a soccer town, he might want to ask why. That's because his incompetent handling of team affairs since buying the franchise from Jerry Richardson saw fans turn away from this once-proud organization, disillusioned and disconnected in equal measure.
That's on Tepper. Nobody else.
Tepper's done some exceptional work within the community. He's on the right track, but these comments lend further weight to the notion that his primary priority is not the Panthers.
It's his soccer team.
The billionaire hedge fund manager could have been speaking in a literal sense. Tepper was beaming with pride about Charlotte embracing soccer rather than hinting that they'd taken over the Panthers' status in the city. But fans are quick to latch onto the negatives where the team's owner is concerned.
This also shows just how far Tepper has to go to win back complete trust from the fan base. The tide is slowly turning, but the damage caused was almost irreparable.
This slip of the tongue and the backlash that followed are just another example of how precarious this relationship remains.
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