In his lawsuit against the league, former NFL Media reporter Jim Trotter claims that he was discriminated against and retaliated against for speaking out about the lack of diversity and inclusion in the NFL Media newsroom.
Additionally, Trotter alleges that he was given a stand down order by his direct supervisor in reporting on the Bills/Bengals game on January 2 that got cancelled after safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field.
The NFL has denied and refuted reporting that the league office in New York told both teams that the game would resume following a five-minute warm-up period. Trotter in the lawsuit said the decision came from the league office and not the officials in Cincinnati.
“This directive was uncovered by several reporters and was widely reported in the media in the days that followed,” the lawsuit reads. “However, the NFL staunchly denied these claims, as reflected in the various articles. Mr. Trotter, for his part, investigated further. He received confirmation from multiple sources refuting the NFL’s version and its denial.”
Jim reached out to NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy looking for comment from the NFL employee that informed the teams play would resume. After McCarthy initially denied Trotter’s request, Trotter continued to press to the point that McCarthy threatened to call Jim’s supervisor, NFL Media head of digital and television media Todd Sperry.
“Soon after, Mr. Trotter received a text message from Mr. Sperry,” the complaint reads. “Mr. Sperry directed Mr. Trotter to ‘stand down’ in his reporting on the story. Mr. Trotter responded, ‘I thought it was our job as journalists to always pursue the truth. Is that not the case?’ Mr. Sperry never responded to Mr. Trotter’s text message — which speaks for itself.”
The lawsuit details ensuing conversations between Trotter, his agent and NFL vice president of on-air talent management Sandra Nunez, in which initially it seemed like Trotter’s contract would be renewed without issue. But by March, the decision was made that the league would not be renewing Trotter’s deal.
“This entire incident makes it very clear that the NFL controls NFL Media, throttles content that is critical of the NFL and will not hesitate to silence employees who speak out regarding matters that are unfavorable to the league,” the complaint said. “While in this case, the matter involved the NFL’s handling of a sensitive incident involving a player injury, it was consistent with the resistance Mr. Trotter faced when speaking up regarding discrimination.”
