Diddy wants to buy Carolina Panthers from Jerry Richardson, sign Colin Kaepernick

Yes, that headline reads like some sort of bizarro Mad Libs, or at the very least an article from The Onion. Yes, Diddy wants to purchase the Carolina Panthers from soon to be departing owner and all-around bigot Jerry Richardson. And yes, he has said he would then sign Colin Kaepernick.

Amidst another wild NFL weekend, arguably the biggest story after Jimmy Garoppolo’s further ascendance to greatest quarterback of all time is that of the Carolina Panthers and owner Jerry Richardson. SI.com had a huge report on workplace misconduct by the Panthers owner that included quite the mix of sexism and racism. From requiring everyone to call him “Mister” (I imagine he would have preferred an “a” instead of that “i”) to making women employees show off their outfits to him, the article is a deep dive into Richardson’s behavior. Some will write it off as just a dirty old (and bigoted) man, but in light of the #MeToo phenomenon and issues of player protests, it is time for Richardson to go.

Enter Diddy!

Richardson is putting the Panthers up for sale, and the rapper (is he still a rapper?) tweeted on Sunday that he wants in on the bidding. In his announcement, Diddy said he would immediately sign Colin Kaepernick to bring competition to the quarterback room. That was quickly followed by a tweets of support from Steph Curry, Colin Kaepernick, and Brooklyn Decker, wanting in on the purchase.

I have zero expectation that this will happen. I’d say there’s at least a one percent chance, since “anything is possible,” but I really don’t see any chance this happens. The NFL controls the bidding process. Given how things are going with the player protests, bringing in a black owner (or multiple black owners) would certainly give the league a PR boost. But if they do push for a minority owner, I would be surprised if it worked out for Diddy and any sort of conglomeration of owners.

That being said, I am still entertained by this whole process, particularly given that it means the departure of Richardson. He will not have any financial issues in the final years of his life, but I appreciate seeing him forced to put the team on the market.