JJ Jansen tells the behind-the-scenes story of David Tepper's drink toss in Jacksonville

The Panthers' long snapper provides context to last year's situation in Jacksonville.

Schuyler Callihan | Sep 25, 2024

Sep 22, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper reacts during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper is one of the most talked about owners in the NFL, and really, all of sports. Most of those conversations are about the team's lack of success since he bought the team from Jerry Richardson in 2018 and opinions of talking heads around the media industry who believe he is too involved with the football side of the business.

Last season, he was the center of attention in the NFL for a couple of days after he tossed a drink toward a fan during the Carolina Panthers-Jacksonville Jaguars game. The league fined him $300,000 for "unacceptable conduct."

In a recent guest appearance on Not For Long Media, Panthers long snapper JJ Jansen provided some context to the situation and stated that Tepper was sticking up for his players.

JJ Jansen on David Tepper's drink toss

“I think one of the most misunderstood moments in Panther history was last year in Jacksonville. (David Tepper) is getting ridiculed for throwing a drink at a fan. Well, the behind-the-scenes story is that fan is screaming up into the press box yelling at him, and the whole organization mocking us when one of our guys, Marquis Haynes Sr., had a major back injury right in front of our bench. This wasn’t that far after the Damar Hamlin stuff, and he kind of seized up and it was pretty scary for us as players on the field. There was a couple fans yelling and screaming into our box where our GM, assistant GM, and owner and all these people are and just being nasty and gross. He’s defending us. Again, it gets sort of ridiculed as ‘Oh my gosh, someone threw a drink’ Nobody’s arguing that’s probably not something you want to do, but as a player you’re like, he’s on our side. He’s defending us. He’s fighting for us. He cares about us as people and as players. And the players certainly feel that 100%, and I think the coaching staff does too.”

"I think one of the most misunderstood moments in Panther history was last year in Jacksonville"

JJ Jansen (@44DoubleJ) breaks it down on this week's @ColinThompsonTU show: pic.twitter.com/Ty1tDYHCqA
— Not For Long Media (@Not4LongMedia) September 25, 2024