More than a year after Jim Trotter first sued the NFL alleging racial discrimination, the former NFL Network reporter’s lawsuit has reached its conclusion.
Taking to X on Wednesday, Trotter revealed that he has settled his lawsuit with the league.
“The NFL and I have agreed to resolve my lawsuit,” Trotter wrote. “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.”
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 had originally filed his lawsuit against the league in September 2023, six months after his contract wasn’t renewed by NFL Media. The league’s decision to not renew Trotter’s contract came roughly six weeks after he publicly questioned NFL commissioner Roger Goodell regarding the lack of diversity in the NFL Media newsroom during a press conference ahead of the Super Bowl.
This is what Roger Goodell came up with after having 80 seconds to think through his response to @JimTrotter_NFL‘s question about diversity issues at NFL Media (which Trotter also asked him about last year) pic.twitter.com/EQlbrsI0hg
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 8, 2023
In his lawsuit, Trotter claimed that his contract was not renewed as retaliation to his question. The lawsuit also claimed that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula had made racial comments to the former San Diego Union-Tribune reporter, which he had been instructed not to share in his reporting.
The NFL had denied Trotter’s accusations.
From the Jim Trotter complaint against the NFL. Note the quotes attributed to Jerry Jones and Terry Pegula. pic.twitter.com/mAQz27QxuR
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 12, 2023
The league had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was ultimately denied this past May. In April 2023, Trotter joined The Athletic, where he covers a variety of sports, including the NBA, WNBA, college football and college basketball.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.