Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula on Tuesday strongly pushed back on accusations made by former NFL Media Jim Trotter that Pegula made racially incendiary comments before Trotter was let go.
Trotter also made similar claims about Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Trotter’s dismissal spurred the retaliation lawsuit filed recently in federal court that included the following allegations:
- “Terry Pegula, owner of the Buffalo Bills, stated in reference to player protests against racial injustice that, ‘If Black players don’t like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is.’ Mr. Trotter raised complaints and concerns about this remark but no remedial action was taken.”
- “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 by stating, ‘If Blacks feel some kind of way, they should buy their own team and hire who they want to hire.’ Mr. Trotter raised complaints and concerns about this remark but no remedial action was taken.”
Shortly after the news of the lawsuit broke, the Bills released the following statement from the team’s owner:
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 12, 2023
Trotter is represented by two of the attorneys handling the Brian Flores racial discrimination lawsuit.
The long-time NFL Media employee was part of recent downsizing by the league’s television network and website, and came not long after he publicly questioned Roger Goodell about what many believe is inadequate levels of minority representation in NFL Network management.
Trotter, now a national columnist for The Athletic, believes that his public and direct questioning of Goodell at the commissioner’s Super Bowl news conference contributed to his dismissal.
Goodell, asked at the NFL annual meeting in March if that played a role in Trotter’s termination, replied:
“I wasn’t part of that decision and actually was just made aware of it about 10 minutes before I walked in here. So, no, I don’t believe that had anything to do with it.”