Multi-billion-dollar companies are not known for their gentle work environment, ask X, or Meta, or Ellene DeGeneres, and the NFL is seemingly no different.
At least that is the view of former senior journalist Jim Trotter, who has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the sport’s governing body.
The NFL, led by Roger Goodell since 2006, has been accused by Trotter of creating a hostile work environment, with a tone-deaf upper management, insensitive senior leadership and at worst, punitive in lashing out at any person who speaks out against the company.
The NFL is worth $12 billion and is meant to be a bastion of transparency, sportsmanship and goodwill given the sport’s iconic status, but Trotter argues that discriminatory comments made by the likes of Bill Pegula and Jerry Jones have not been properly investigated internally.
While this is a civil not criminal matter it must be noted that the NFL does not have the best record in dealing with discrimination, according to the likes of Trotter and other media outlets, or employees in the past.
Former lawyer turned commentator Mike Florio said, “He made the mistake of asking the emperor about it in a public setting, not once but twice. And that’s frowned upon. That’s his argument.”
“They retaliated against him because he was agitating for change for better representation of minority employees in management positions and in the newsroom,” Pro Football Talk’s Florio added.
Whether the case will make it to trial is debatable as many of these matters are settled out of court but Trotter may be more litigious than most, and this could prove an ugly case for the NFL.
