The NFL settled a racial discrimination lawsuit with reporter Jim Trotter on Wednesday, just over one year after Trotter sued the league.
Trotter, who joined The Athletic as a columnist in May 2023, said in his September 2023 complaint that NFL Network did not renew his contract in retaliation for speaking out about the NFL’s lack of diversity and challenging commissioner Roger Goodell on the topic.
Trotter confirmed the resolution in a statement Wednesday and said he will be creating a scholarship foundation for journalism students at historically Black colleges and universities — and that the NFL has agreed to make a donation in support.
“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,” Trotter said.
Terms of the settlement are not publicly known. The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Trotter’s lawsuit, he said he raised concerns about racial discrimination in the league prior to pressing Goodell on the topic in a news conference during Super Bowl week in February 2023. At that news conference, Trotter asked Goodell why the league did not have a Black person in senior management in the NFL Media newsroom.
According to the lawsuit, Trotter said Sandra Nunez — NFL vice president of on-air talent — asked him on March 1, 2023, if he was “in alignment” with the league, to which he said he was “not in alignment with a newsroom that does not have Black representation in decision-making positions.” On March 24, Trotter said Nunez informed his agent that Trotter’s contract was not being renewed.
“The NFL has claimed it wants to be held accountable regarding diversity, equity and inclusion,” Trotter said in a statement when he filed the lawsuit. “I tried to do so, and it cost me my job.”
In his filing, Trotter also specifically noted comments made by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, which Trotter said he believed were racist.
Some personal news, with greater detail available at https://t.co/sGDuBgouAf. #PayingItForward pic.twitter.com/DDhN54eO9H
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) October 9, 2024
Trotter’s attorney, David Gottlieb, told The Athletic he was honored to represent Trotter in the case.
“Jim is not only a talented journalist, but someone who lives by his ideals and principles in all aspects of his life,” Gottlieb said. “As a perfect example of that, Jim has used this opportunity to create a charity devoted to supporting Black journalism students at HBCUs and increasing racial diversity in his professional field. We applaud him for his courage and congratulate him for his charitable work, which our firm will be proudly supporting as well.”
(Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
