Two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders were allegedly engaging in sexual activity in a bar restroom, and the duo reportedly then started a brawl when patrons complained and police were called. The cheerleaders were, of course, promptly fired by the Carolina Panthers.
This is, of course, completely consistent with the Carolina Panthers longstanding policy of firing any of its employees who are arrested on suspicion of committing violent crimes. For example, when Panthers player Rae Carruth was arrested on suspicion of planning the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, the Panthers promptly . . . suspended him without pay. They did not bother to fire Carruth until he jumped bail a few weeks later.
Presumably if he’d been caught having sex in the bathroom of a bar after the murder, they might have considered firing him outright. But what’s a little murder when you’re talking about a first round draft pick?
This sort of treatment is typical of the NFL’s when its employees have been arrested in violent incidents. In September, for example, Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson was arrested at a Kansas City bar after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend. The Chiefs quickly enforced the NFL’s well-known zero tolerance policy toward Johnson — coach Dick Vermeil told the media that the arrest would not affect Johnson’s status with the team.
Moral of the story — if you want to assault people and avoid being fired by an NFL team, make sure you can score on the field as well as in restrooms.
Source:
Carolina Panthers Cheerleaders Fired, Approached by Penthouse.
Panther back office testifies for Carruth. CourtTV.Com, December 14, 2000.
Chiefs RB faces assault charge. St. Petersburg Times, September 14, 2005.