The NFL media world was shocked when journalist Jim Trotter announced in March that he was in his final week with NFL Media and NFL.com — the NFL wasn’t renewing his contract, meaning he would be leaving the outlet he had worked at since 2018.
Why would the league’s reporting arm let go a talented veteran reporter and writer? And did it have anything to do with him publicly raising his voice to question the league’s lack of diversity in the newsroom?
Now, Trotter has filed a lawsuit that alleges just that and more, accusing some owners of making racist statements.
Here’s everything we know so far:
Trotter asked commissioner Roger Goodell to respond to the lack of diversity in the NFL Media newsroom
This was at Goodell’s Super Bowl LVII press conference earlier this year, and he asked a similar question to Goodell in the previous year’s Super Bowl:
The @NFL says its commitment to diversity extends beyond the sideline and front office, but the numbers in the newsroom at the league-owned media group says otherwise. So I asked @nflcommish sbout it. 👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/nabWjo0SDm
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) February 8, 2023
Trotter announced a month later that his contract wouldn't be renewed
Some personal news: This will be my final week with the NFL Media Group. I was informed over the weekend that my contract is not being renewed. I thank NFL Network and https://t.co/CrvPSHPLsn for the lessons learned and affirmed over the last five years.
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) March 27, 2023
He believed those questions were part of the reason why he didn't have his contract renewed
While speaking with Peacock’s Brother From Another, he had this to say (as transcribed by Awful Announcing):
“So I have raised that repeatedly over the last two years, including at the last two Super Bowls with the Commissioner. And there are some who didn’t like it. And I do believe it played a role in my contract not being renewed, and I will talk about that more later. But so be it, you know? I’m not going to change. And I’m always going to fight for representation, and I’m always going to fight for the truth.”
Trotter filed a lawsuit against the NFL and the NFL Network
Trotter filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday in New York seeking damages and an “award of equitable relief necessary to force the NFL to remedy and change its discriminatory and retaliatory practices.” He is represented by the Wigdor law firm, which also has represented former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores in his racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL.
The lawsuit included allegations against Jerry Jones and Terry Pegula
Trotter alleges that Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner, had this to say when asked about “the dearth of Black professionals in decision making positions for NFL teams”:
If Blacks feel some kind of way, they should buy their own team and hire who they want to hire.
Pegula, who owns the Buffalo Bills, allegedly said, “If the Black players don’t like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is.”
In both cases, Trotter raised concerns to the league and nothing was done.
Pegula denied it in a statement
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 12, 2023
We’ll continue to update this post as the story progresses.
