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Black Excellence: Diddy copping the Panthers makes perfect sense

black excellence December 18, 2017

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is many things. He’s the richest man in music, a Grammy award-winning artist, part owner of both a liquor and water company, and he owns his television station.

Nowadays Diddy has his sights on being an NFL owner and, as of last night, he may legitimately have a chance.

Sunday, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson announced he’s going to put the team up for sale after the 2017 season in a letter on the team website.

The announcement came hours after the Sports Illustrated story reporting the Panthers settled with at least four former employees regarding inappropriate workplace behavior by Richardson.

“I believe that it is time to turn the franchise over to new ownership,” Richardson wrote. “Therefore, I will put the team up for sale at the conclusion of this NFL season. We will not begin the sale process, nor will we entertain any inquiries, until the very last game is played.”

Without missing a beat, Diddy made sure his interest was known, tweeting that he wanted to purchase the team and not forgetting to mention that it would be an historic feat if completed.

https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/942573108170543105

You may think Diddy is trolling — as he often does — but this is no gimmick. It’s an ambition that Combs is actually on record speaking about.

This past October, Diddy cosigned a tweet by Keith Boykin which read “Black players are 70% of the NFL. We have the power to defend Colin Kaepernick and Jemele Hill from the forces that would silence them.”

The statement must have triggered something in the Bad Boy CEO, because he then went on to describe what his league would look like.

https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/917903336464109568

https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/917903563527016448

Forget that Diddy is in the music industry, that he’s not shy of headlines, and that he would probably oppose most of the current owners’ viewpoints, the fact that the NFL has not had an African-American owner in the history of the league is why this would seem improbable.

Yet, ironically enough, it’s the exact reason why Diddy is the most formidable candidate.

Diddy — who was sued earlier this year for allegedly discriminating against ‘old and white’ employees at Revolt TV–  not only has the capital, business acumen, and passion for the job, but he has the influence of the culture.

A league that, just this year, had a former NFL player file a grievance for collusion against them, an owner start an uproar for comparing his players to inmates, and has seen a drop in ratings can use the hype Diddy brings.

Logistically this can work, too. Although the Panthers are $120 million more than Diddy’s total net value (the Panthers were valued at $2.3 billion in the last Forbes NFL valuations) North Carolina native and Golden State Warriors All-Star point guard Stephen Curry says he wants to help.

Yes, math dictates that they both still don’t have enough loot to buy the team, but it shows that Diddy is an attractive business partner who can attract the Currys of the world to jump on board.

Imagine an NFL team led by an ownership group of your favorite celebrities. When Black money is put together, these are the type of possibilities that can be achieved.

It’s definitely an exciting possibility to discuss. A simple change in the systems in place could potentially save the league.

Diddy posted a video voicing his bid for owner of the Panthers. Between putting Kaepernick against Cam for QB1 and putting up the most lit halftime shows, he makes a strong case. We can only hope for such a shake up.

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