Bills According to a race-discrimination complaint against the NFL brought on Tuesday by veteran journalist Jim Trotter, Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula allegedly made a derogatory remark against Black players in the NFL.
Bills In his case, Trotter claims that a fellow NFL Media reporter told him in 2020 about a conversation he had with Pegula in which the latter discussed the NFL’s social justice programs and Black Lives Matter with the reporter.
When Pegula added, “If the Black players don’t like it here Bills, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is,” the reporter—who was unnamed in the lawsuit—told Trotter and about 40 other NFL Media staff members on a Zoom call.
The lawsuit claims that Black NFL Media executive Trotter pushed NFL Media management to look into Pegula’s remarks because they were “highly offensive and racist”.
Trotter’s complaint is absolutely false.” “I am appalled by the thought of someone linking myself to such a claim. It disgusts me that my name is connected to this allegation since racism has no place in our society.
The lawsuit also includes Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who is believed to have said to Trotter in 2020, “If Blacks feel anyway, they should buy their own team Bills.”
The lawsuit claims that Jones made the remark while discussing “why teams have so few Black decision-makers” with Black Cowboys executive Will McClay and Trotter. Trotter referred to the discussion as “rather contentious,” and he claimed that Jones ultimately recommended that he and Trotter “should ‘agree to disagree’ about the NFL’s issues with race.”
In a statement, Jones criticized the lawsuit’s “representation” of his conversation with Trotter as being “simply not accurate.”
For both the NFL and myself personally, diversity and inclusion are crucial, Jones added. “Jim Trotter’s portrayal of a discussion that took place with myself and our VP of Player Personnel Will McClay more than three years ago is purely untrue,”
The NFL Network’s executive producer Trotter’s employment at the league-owned NFL Media came to an end earlier this year. The NFL and NFL Network are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which claims that Trotter was let go because he “challenged Commissioner Roger Goodell.
The NFL responded with a statement refuting Trotter’s claims.
The league stated, “We take his concerns seriously, but vehemently refute his specific claims, especially those made against his devoted NFL Media colleagues,” the statement reads.
According to the NFL, the decision to not renew Trotter’s contract was taken due to “a challenging economy and a changing media environment.”
Trotter is suing the NFL for unspecified damages and has demanded a “full-scale investigation into the discriminatory and/or retaliatory animus of all persons in position of power within the NFL, including the NFL team owners.”
These equitable procedures, the lawsuit claims, are a crucial part of any relief granted since “the NFL and team owners have repeatedly demonstrated they are unable to monitor and police themselves.”
Trotter is being defended by the same legal team as former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who last year sued the NFL and three teams, accusing them of utilizing discriminatory hiring procedures while looking for coaches.
Trotter, who is currently employed by The Athletic, previously reported on the NFL for ESPN. He said in a proclamation shared via online entertainment that he brought the claim since he “can’t say anything negative about things that are off-base in the event that I’m reluctant to battle for what is correct,” and that he trusts it “prompts genuine change across the association and in the newsroom.”