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ric-flairCourtesy of ESPN.com:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Professional wrestling legend Ric Flair issued a statement on Thursday saying he will not attend Sunday’s NFC playoff game between the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.

Team officials at Carolina said they were not aware that Flair, who reportedly has moved from Charlotte to Atlanta, was invited.

Flair became embroiled in controversy between the two teams last weekend when he flew to Wisconsin to give the 49ers a pep talk before their wild-card game against the Green Bay Packers. Flair, who lived in Charlotte from the early 1970s until recently, went so far as to say his “heart is with the 49ers all the way to the end.”

This came several days after it became public that the Panthers have been using Flair’s famous “WOOOOOOO” chant as part of their locker room celebration after wins. Cornerback Drayton Florence, who began the chant with the defensive backs early in the season, went so far as to say he wanted to invite Flair to speak to the team before Sunday’s game.

Florence, cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and safety Mike Mitchell also had taped a video of them shouting “WOOOOOOO” to play on the stadium Jumbotron to pump up the crowd.

That was before they heard Flair had gone to Wisconsin to meet with the 49ers at the team’s request.

Melinda Morris Zanoni, Flair’s agent at Legacy Talent and Entertainment, said the WWE asked Flair to fly to Wisconsin to meet with the 49ers. She reminded that the WWE is hosting WrestleMania XXXI in San Francisco in 2015 and that Flair is friends with players on the 49ers, Packers and Panthers.

Read the rest of the article here:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2013/story/_/id/10269119/ric-flair-attend-game-san-francisco-49ers-carolina-panthers