Journalist Jim Trotter announced Wednesday that he has settled his retaliation lawsuit against the NFL. The former NFL Network reporter, who is now employed by The Athletic, released a statement about the settlement on social media.
“The NFL and I have agreed to resolve my lawsuit,” Trotter said in the statement. “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 named his new foundation the Work, Plan, Pray Foundation after the late NFL star Junior Seau, who died of suicide in 2012. Trotter covered Seau when he worked for the San Diego Union-Tribune, and says Seau “took me under his wing and taught me about the culture of a locker room and the mindset of an elite professional athlete.” He explained on the foundation’s website why he chose “Work, Plan, Pray” as the name.
“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.”
On the foundation’s website, Trotter notes that the lack of Black voices in sports media often leads to mistrust of the media, as Black fans don’t see anyone representing their life experiences and cultural experiences. The foundation’s aim is to get more Black voices in sports journalism and sports management by offering resources, both financial and otherwise, to help interested students break down the obstacles that stand between them and a college education.
Trotter made headlines in Feb. 2023 when he used the Super Bowl news conference with commissioner Roger Goodell to press Goodell on the lack of Black executives and news editors in NFL Media, which the NFL owns and operates. (Trotter had asked Goodell a similar question at the previous year’s Super Bowl news conference.) A month later, Trotter announced that he was leaving NFL Network as his contract had not been renewed.
Six months later, in Sept. 2023, Trotter sued the NFL for retaliation, alleging his contract hadn’t been renewed because he publicly questioned Goodell about the NFL’s record of race discrimination and lack of diversity. In the lawsuit, Trotter also accused Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula of making discriminatory comments when asked about player protests and the NFL’s diversity efforts. Both Jones and Pegula denied they made those comments.
