New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman had an unceremonious ouster from the same position with Carolina last summer.
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson fired Gettleman a week before the start of training camp for reasons neither man has explained.
So while Gettleman might have privately felt some sense of karmic justice when Richardson was prompted to sell the team in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment, Gettleman on Tuesday publicly expressed sympathy for at least some of his former colleagues in Charlotte.
Without mentioning Richardson, Gettleman said he feels bad for his friends whose jobs and lives could be turned upside down after the Panthers’ sale is finalized, likely at the NFL’s May meetings in Atlanta.