Jim Trotter, NFL Settle Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

Jim Trotter and his former employer, the NFL, have settled the reporter’s racial discrimination lawsuit.

He was let go by NFL Network after five years as a reporter in March 2023. Six months later, Trotter sued the league and its media arm, alleging he had been a victim of racial discrimination and retaliation.

Trotter is Black; his lawsuit claimed his contract wasn’t renewed because he repeatedly spoke out against the NFL’s lack of diversity in its offices, coaching ranks, and media arm. 

He released a statement on X announcing the settlement Wednesday. 

“The NFL and I have agreed to resolve my lawsuit,” Trotter said in the post. “I will be creating a scholarship foundation for journalism students at HBCUs and the NFL has agreed to make a donation in support thereof. I am proud to have the opportunity to help and support HBCU students achieve their goals and dreams, just as scholarships afforded me those opportunities when I was a student at Howard University.” 

The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the settlement.

Trotter had filed the case in the Southern District of New York. His 53-page complaint said his contract wasn’t renewed by the NFL Network partially because he challenged commissioner Roger Goodell on the league’s diversity track record at his past two Super Bowl press conferences before he was let go. 

“The N.F.L. has claimed it wants to be held accountable regarding diversity, equity and inclusion,” Trotter said in a statement at the time the suit was filed. “I tried to do so, and it cost me my job.”

Trotter also mentioned multiple NFL owners in his complaint, alleging the league “swept under the rug” comments made by Bills owner Terry Pegula and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. 

The suit alleged Pegula told an unnamed NFL Media reporter in 2020, “If the Black players don’t like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is.”

Trotter also claimed Jones said to him that same year that “If Blacks feel some kind of way, they should buy their own team and hire who they want to hire,” in response to Trotter asking about the lack of diversity in the upper ranks of NFL front offices. Both Jones and Pegula issued statements adamantly denying the comments, while an NFL spokesperson said the league investigated the Pegula comments and could not verify the unnamed reporter’s account. 

Despite the friction, Trotter expected his contract to be renewed. He cited Sandra Nunez, who handles the NFL Network’s on-air talent, in his complaint telling him she “could not envision any reason why his contract would not be renewed.” Nunez asked Trotter whether he wanted a bigger role in his next deal, according to the complaint. On March 24, Nunez notified Trotter’s agent that his contract wasn’t being renewed.

Trotter landed with The Athletic in April 2023 as a national columnist, but he did not cover the league while he was suing it. A spokesperson from The New York Times, which owns The Athletic, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.