Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson Receives a Tastefully Understated Statue for his Birthday

#Panthers partners unveil statue in honor of Jerry Richardson, who turns 80 today » https://t.co/L4NSkdilHj pic.twitter.com/uExGLpXO4b
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) July 18, 2016

Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson is a man of simple tastes. He made his fortune with Hardee's franchises. His main indulgence seems to be glowering from his owner's box, crushing the players during CBA negotiations, and making sure Cam Newton doesn't get any tattoos or piercings. In that spirit, what better gift could there be to celebrate the man's 80th year on this planet, than a giant statue of him flanked by panthers?

Aren't the panthers a bit much? Not so, according to sculptor Todd Andrews—pictured above with Jerry Richardson's disembodied statue head—who had also sculpted the six other panther statues ringing Bank of America Stadium. Surrounding Richardson's nearly 13-feet-tall likeness with panthers was meant to appeal to the owner's sense of modesty:

"What we did, in order to take the emphasis off of Mr. Richardson, we encompassed him with the other panthers so it wouldn't be uncomfortable for Mr. Richardson to have this out there."

The two flanking panthers have an added symbolism to Andrews:

"One represents the offense, the other the defense. And because of what they are and who they're standing next to, they represent North Carolina and South Carolina." Hear that, special teams? Screw you, you don't get a panther! And screw you too, Southern Virginia fans: You don't get a panther either! Andrews continued, "And then you take all three of them together, and I think of them as three panthers because Mr. Richardson is definitely a Panther," which is a real sentence that now exists in the world.

Personally, I like to think of the statue as a message from Richardson to his old buddies in the NFL Players Association. He beckons them by holding out the football, which he is magnanimous enough to offer his subjects. But cross him, and he will literally maul you to death with his loyal army of man-eating cats.

Note: No panthers were harmed in the making of this article.