Jim Trotter, formerly of NFL Network, became most-known as the reporter who pressed Commissioner Roger Goodell on issues regarding diversity.
Trotter, who has had awkward interactions with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at the last two Super Bowl press conferences, announced earlier this year that his time at NFL Network was coming to an end.
The league has since came under heavy fire by New York and California who launched investigations into its workplace culture. The culture has been questioned amid lawsuits by former employees that allege instances of sexism, racism and more.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta noted that the concern is regarding a “extremely hostile and detrimental work environment.”
Trotter, who currently works for The Athletic, is now speaking out yet again as he spoke on having another job that will him to do his job more effectively.
“I no longer have to worry about my words being watered down or silenced altogether, which was not always the case over my final two years with NFL Media Group, which is owned by the NFL,” he said.
“I was told we would always report the news, though we might not opine on it. That was not the case, particularly when it came to reporting on team owners or the league office.”
At Goodell’s media availability during Super Bowl week in February, Trotter asked the commissioner a pointed question about newsroom diversity.
“You and other league officials have said that the league’s commitment to diversity, equity inclusion extends beyond the sidelines and front offices and is applied to all aspects of the company,” Trotter said.
“I’ve worked at NFL Media for five years, during those five years we have never had a black person in senior management in our newsroom. That’s a problem because we cover a league, that according to league data, the player population is 60-70 percent black, which means that there’s no one who looks like these players at the table when decisions are being made about how they are covered. More concerning is that for a year-plus now we have not had a fulltime black employee on the news desk, which again is a problem because we cover a league whose player population is 60-70 percent black.
“I asked you about these things last year and your answer was that the league had fallen short and you were going to review all of your policies and practices to try and improve this and yet a year later nothing has changed. James Baldwin once said that I can’t believe what you say because I see what you do. And so what I would ask you, as an employee, is when, in the newsroom, will we have a black person in senior management and when will we have a fulltime black employee on the newsdesk?”
Trotter joined NFL Media in 2017. Prior to that, he covered the NFL for Sports Illustrated and ESPN.
Now he seems happy to have more freedom than what he had with NFL Network.
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