Carolina Panthers freeze out reporter critical of David Tepper during press conference

Amid a frustrating 1-10 starter, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper chose to fire head coach Frank Reich. It was a move that led to a lot of criticism of the Panthers’ owner.

David Tepper addressed the decision in a press conference. However, during that press conference, it seemed like the Panthers purposefully froze out one of the reporters who was the most critical of Tepper and the Panthers.

On Monday, Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer wrote a critical article of the Panthers. In it, he argued that David Tepper needed to fire himself. This came amid the third head coach he’s fired in his time owning the Panthers.

He also attended the press conference but was not called on to ask a question. Fowler made it clear afterward that he felt this was an intentional decision.

“I’m very unhappy w/the Panthers for getting frozen out of asking a question at the David Tepper press conference,” Fowler posted. “Sat in front row; raised hand high; wasn’t called on; protested to no avail. Felt like it was purposeful.”

The column also referred to Tepper as a “hedge-fund billionaire with no clue as to how to run a football team.”

Proving that Carolina purposefully didn’t call on Scott Fowler is pretty difficult to do. However, it also wouldn’t be surprising. The Panthers are trying to control a media narrative and David Tepper would certainly prefer to avoid the hardest-hitting questions as possible.

At the same time, the reason why media sessions happen is for reporters to ask questions and get answers for fans. For those Carolina fans who are frustrated with how the franchise has struggled during Tepper’s tenure in charge, a critical voice can be an important one.

Panthers’ David Tepper says former head coach firings won’t make it harder to hire next one

There is concern that the amount of coaching turnover might make it hard to find a new head coach in Carolina. After all, even when there are a limited number of NFL head coaching jobs available, job security does matter.

“I’m not going to get into it here, but I think that there are different reasons why different things happen in each case,” Tepper said.

“Everything is out in the field, everything is known over time and I think people know it, the league knows it and people in the league know it. If everything was perfect, it wouldn’t be the case. If everything was good, it wouldn’t be the case. It’s not as if it’s not known out there.”

David Tepper also added that he wants the next coach to be in Carolina for 20 or 30 years.