direct link to the filing (53 page PDF): https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23972194/jim-trotter-lawsuit.pdf (found via the news story from The Defector - I always appreciate journalists who...
Pegula’s response sounds like a typical response by his PR/Legal team. While I don’t doubt this is true, I hope Trotter actually has hard evidence otherwise this lawsuit is going nowhere.
Pegula’s response sounds like a typical response by his PR/Legal team. While I don’t doubt this is true, I hope Trotter actually has hard evidence otherwise this lawsuit is going nowhere.
While I have no trouble believing an NFL owner would say such things, it's my understanding that not only is there no hard evidence, Trotter didn't even hear the remark himself. He heard from...
While I have no trouble believing an NFL owner would say such things, it's my understanding that not only is there no hard evidence, Trotter didn't even hear the remark himself. He heard from others that were there that it was said.
It's my understanding that this lawsuit has little to do with the truthfulness of the comments and more so how he was treated when he tried to get someone to investigate it. So he doesn't necessarily need hard evidence that it was said, he just needs to prove he was discriminated against because he tried to push the issue.
from paragraph 18 of the filing that I linked in another comment: he's not suing as some random journalist (that would be dismissed pretty much immediately for lack of standing), but rather as a...
from paragraph 18 of the filing that I linked in another comment:
Plaintiff Jim Trotter is a Black man and resident of California. Mr. Trotter worked for Defendants from 2018 through March 31, 2023.
he's not suing as some random journalist (that would be dismissed pretty much immediately for lack of standing), but rather as a journalist who was employed by the NFL and then allegedly fired in retaliation for speaking out about racial justice issues.
he also potentially has an easier time of proving his allegations in court than a player might. with Colin Kaepernick for example, it seems fairly certain that he was also retaliated against for speaking out. but the NFL can throw uncertainty at that argument by saying he wasn't good enough to play starting QB yada yada yada it wasn't retaliation it was just a coincidence. I don't buy that argument, but a court might. with the allegations the journalist is making, the NFL would have a tougher time claiming the firing was a coincidence and not retaliation.
and nothing in this lawsuit precludes other lawsuits from moving forward (for example Flores v NFL - news article and CourtListener docket - about discrimination against Black coaches)
I never really understood football (I have a vague idea of what a quarterback does), and with the non-stop scandals coming out of the NFL over the last 15 years I can't say I'm surprised by any of...
I never really understood football (I have a vague idea of what a quarterback does), and with the non-stop scandals coming out of the NFL over the last 15 years I can't say I'm surprised by any of this. What I find truly appalling is that people still give the NFL money, and the Superbowl is still the most watched thing on American TV every year.
I used to watch football a lot, and not much anymore for a few reasons (excessive commercials and advertising in-game, inconsistent application of rules both on and off the field, various elements...
I used to watch football a lot, and not much anymore for a few reasons (excessive commercials and advertising in-game, inconsistent application of rules both on and off the field, various elements of the game itself).
My opinion is that the game is less about the overall better teams winning and emphasizing more that any team could theoretically win, combined with fewer games, it makes the game less predictable. Compare that to many other sports where there's many more games, and in the playoffs there's probably best of 5 or 7 formats and generally just better teams win in other sports. While better teams do often still win in the NFL, and it has probably become more prevalent as the game has become so passing dominated which allows one particular player (the quarterback) to have an outsized influence over the outcome, it's still a bit more random than some other sports. For casual viewers it probably makes things more entertaining, anything can happen.
With regards to the scandals, IMO some of the scandals seem borderline manufactured by the NFL, like spying and balls being deflated etc. and people like drama. Most of those things occur because the NFL doesn't bother to actually manage the game professionally, like letting teams handle the balls themselves. If it was a serious issue, then the real scandal is they didn't care about the integrity of the game until it was advantageous to bring it up.
Julie DiCaro Longtime NFL reporter Jim Trotter’s discrimination suit against the NFL, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, names the National Football...
Julie DiCaro
Longtime NFL reporter Jim Trotter’s discrimination suit against the NFL, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, names the National Football League and NFL Network, Trotter’s former employer, as defendants.
Trotter’s lawsuit alleges, in part:
As one such example, Terry Pegula, owner of the Buffalo Bills, stated inteference to player protests against racial injustice that, “If the Black players don’t like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is.” See infra at SIII(D).
Mr. Trotter says he raised complaints and concerns about this remark, but no action was taken.
As another example, Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, responded to a question posed by Mr. Trotter regarding the dearth of Black professionals in decision making positions for NFL teams by stating, “If Blacks feel some kind of way, they should buy their own team and hire who they want to hire.” See infra at SIII(C). Mr. Trotter raised complaints and concerns about this remark but no remedial action was taken.
“The statement attributed to me in Mr. Trotter’s complaint is absolutely false. I am horrified that anyone would connect me to an allegation of this kind,” Pegula said. “Racism has no place in our society and I am personally disgusted that my name is associated with this complaint.”
The revelation of Jones’ comments, specifically, come less than a year after that infamous photo of the Cowboys owner joining in on a crowd of students attempting to block six Black students as they tried to desegregate North Little Rock High School.
direct link to the filing (53 page PDF): https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23972194/jim-trotter-lawsuit.pdf
(found via the news story from The Defector - I always appreciate journalists who include these links to the primary sources)
Pegula’s response sounds like a typical response by his PR/Legal team. While I don’t doubt this is true, I hope Trotter actually has hard evidence otherwise this lawsuit is going nowhere.
While I have no trouble believing an NFL owner would say such things, it's my understanding that not only is there no hard evidence, Trotter didn't even hear the remark himself. He heard from others that were there that it was said.
It's my understanding that this lawsuit has little to do with the truthfulness of the comments and more so how he was treated when he tried to get someone to investigate it. So he doesn't necessarily need hard evidence that it was said, he just needs to prove he was discriminated against because he tried to push the issue.
Appreciate the clarification!
I'm sorry if I'm hilariously missing something, but why's a journalist suing the NFL and not the actual players that suffered discrimination?
from paragraph 18 of the filing that I linked in another comment:
he's not suing as some random journalist (that would be dismissed pretty much immediately for lack of standing), but rather as a journalist who was employed by the NFL and then allegedly fired in retaliation for speaking out about racial justice issues.
he also potentially has an easier time of proving his allegations in court than a player might. with Colin Kaepernick for example, it seems fairly certain that he was also retaliated against for speaking out. but the NFL can throw uncertainty at that argument by saying he wasn't good enough to play starting QB yada yada yada it wasn't retaliation it was just a coincidence. I don't buy that argument, but a court might. with the allegations the journalist is making, the NFL would have a tougher time claiming the firing was a coincidence and not retaliation.
and nothing in this lawsuit precludes other lawsuits from moving forward (for example Flores v NFL - news article and CourtListener docket - about discrimination against Black coaches)
Because his former employer is NFL Network, which is owned by the NFL.
I never really understood football (I have a vague idea of what a quarterback does), and with the non-stop scandals coming out of the NFL over the last 15 years I can't say I'm surprised by any of this. What I find truly appalling is that people still give the NFL money, and the Superbowl is still the most watched thing on American TV every year.
I used to watch football a lot, and not much anymore for a few reasons (excessive commercials and advertising in-game, inconsistent application of rules both on and off the field, various elements of the game itself).
My opinion is that the game is less about the overall better teams winning and emphasizing more that any team could theoretically win, combined with fewer games, it makes the game less predictable. Compare that to many other sports where there's many more games, and in the playoffs there's probably best of 5 or 7 formats and generally just better teams win in other sports. While better teams do often still win in the NFL, and it has probably become more prevalent as the game has become so passing dominated which allows one particular player (the quarterback) to have an outsized influence over the outcome, it's still a bit more random than some other sports. For casual viewers it probably makes things more entertaining, anything can happen.
With regards to the scandals, IMO some of the scandals seem borderline manufactured by the NFL, like spying and balls being deflated etc. and people like drama. Most of those things occur because the NFL doesn't bother to actually manage the game professionally, like letting teams handle the balls themselves. If it was a serious issue, then the real scandal is they didn't care about the integrity of the game until it was advantageous to bring it up.
Julie DiCaro
Longtime NFL reporter Jim Trotter’s discrimination suit against the NFL, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, names the National Football League and NFL Network, Trotter’s former employer, as defendants.