After the National Football League previously attempted to have a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by its former employee, The Athletic’s Jim Trotter, dismissed in May 2024, the league agreed to settle the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum.
According to Yahoo Sports , Trotter announced the settlement via a social media post. In the statement, Trotter indicated that he would also create an HBCU journalism scholarship in honor of the late Junior Seau, which the NFL agreed to donate.
“The NFL and I have agreed to resolve my lawsuit,” Trotter said. “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.”
Trotter also explained on the foundation’s website why he named it the Work, Plan, Pray Foundation.
“(Junior) Seau was a giving soul who often ended speaking engagements by reminding the audience to work for today, plan for tomorrow, and pray for the rest,” Trotter said. “I could think of no greater way to thank him and carry on his legacy of giving than by amplifying his words in the name of this foundation.”
Trotter credited Seau with teaching him the nuances of an NFL locker room when he was a reporter for the San Diego Tribune . He said Seau “took me under his wing and taught me about the culture of a locker room and the mindset of an elite professional athlete.”
Trotter’s lawsuit stemmed from a line of questioning he delivered at the 2023 Super Bowl news conference.
Trotter used his time to press NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on the lack of Black representation in team ownership and news editors in the NFL-owned NFL Media. In March 2023, Trotter announced that he was leaving the NFL Network because his contract hadn’t been renewed.
In September 2023, Trotter sued the NFL for retaliation, arguing that his contract wasn’t renewed because he questioned Goodell publicly on discrimination matters and Black representation.
Trotter’s lawsuit also alleged that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula made discriminatory comments when they were asked about player protests and diversity in the NFL. Both men denied making the statements.
According to The Athletic , when NFL Vice President of On-Air Talent Sandra Nunez asked Trotter in March 2023 if he was “in alignment” with the NFL, Trotter replied that he was “not in alignment with a newsroom that does not have Black representation in decision-making positions.”
When Trotter filed his lawsuit, he released a statement saying that his attempts to hold the league accountable on matters of inclusivity, something the league claimed to want, resulted in his firing.
“The NFL has claimed it wants to be held accountable regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Trotter said. “I tried to do so, and it cost me my job.”
Trotter’s attorney, David Gottlieb, said that Trotter has long been a paragon of principled idealism, which is reflected by his creation of the scholarship foundation.
“Jim is not only a talented journalist, but someone who lives by his ideals and principles in all aspects of his life,” Gottlieb told The Athletic . “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.”
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