Photo credit: meunierd/Shutterstock.com The National Football League's Carolina Panthers have parted ways with their general counsel of more than two decades. Several news media outlets reported Thursday that the team terminated Richard Thigpen, just days after the $2.2 billion all-cash deal that hands control of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based franchise to billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper. "It's not uncommon for a new owner, whether it is a sports franchise or other business, to want his own legal team in place when he takes over," Thigpen told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday morning. "Personal relationships are typically involved with legal [representatives] and owners." Neither Thigpen nor a Panthers spokesperson could be immediately reached for comment. Thigpen joined the Panthers as assistant GC in 1997 and was promoted to his current rule in late May 1998. He began his legal career at Moore & Van Allen before helping set up a Charlotte office for Poyner Spruill, according to a North Carolina Lawyers Weekly online bio. He spent his last two years of private practice with Kirk Palmer & Thigpen, the bio said. During Thigpen's 13 years of private practice, he specialized in health care, corporate and tax law, and advised the Panthers on a variety of matters, including issues related to the financing and construction of the team's home, Bank of America Stadium, it added. Thigpen earned his law degree from Campbell Law School in Raleigh, North Carolina, and an LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to the Panthers' purchase by Tepper earlier this year, former NFL player and Hardee's fast food restaurant franchisee Jerry Richardson Sr. had owned the team since its founding in 1993. Last December, Sports Illustrated detailed some of Richardson's alleged workplace misconduct , and hours later he announced his plans to sell the team. According to The Observer report, an internal investigation of the Panthers organization found evidence that substantiated the claims of former employees, who said Richardson made significant monetary settlements with them in exchange for their silence. The investigation was conducted by former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White, who is now senior chair at Debevoise & Plimpton, In addition to the investigation of the nondisclosure agreements, the NFL fined Richardson a league-record $2.75 million last month over the claims of sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace.