Panthers owner Jerry Richardson donates $100K for Charleston tragedy
— -- CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson donated $10,000 to each of the families of the nine people killed in Wednesday night's shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
The team founder also donated $10,000 to the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where the murders occurred during a bible study.
The $100,000 donation was made in a letter sent Friday to the Mother Emanuel Hope fund. The letter was shared by Bakari Sellers, a Democratic member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, on Twitter.
"We don't want to comment on the specifics of the donation, but know our hearts are one with those who grieve the loss of these individuals," team spokesperson Steven Drummond said.
In the letter, Richardson identified each of the victims: Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., and Myra Thompson.
Richardson wrote that the money was to help "defray funeral costs and other financial needs of each."
Richardson made it clear when he founded the Panthers, who played their first season in 1995, that the NFL team represented North and South Carolina. He built the stadium in Charlotte, but holds training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, each year.
A native of Spring Hope, North Carolina, Richardson was an All-American football player at Wofford and built his financial empire in Spartanburg.
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