Former NFL Network reporter Jim Trotter has filed a new lawsuit against the NFL, alleging that the league exerts control over NFL Media to suppress any content critical of the NFL. Trotter backs up his claim by citing specific allegations related to his attempt to report on the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game on January 2, 2023, following Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field.
According to Trotter’s complaint, he learned in the days following the game’s cancellation that there was a preliminary decision to resume play after a five-minute warm-up, which explained why the players had been warming up on the field. He says this decision came from the NFL league office, not from the officials on the field. However, the NFL denied these claims, and Trotter further investigated the matter, receiving confirmation from multiple sources contradicting the league’s version.
Trotter reached out to Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s Vice President of Communications, to seek comment from the individual who allegedly informed the teams about the game’s resumption. McCarthy denied the allegations and refused to make the person available to Trotter. When Trotter insisted on speaking to the individual, McCarthy threatened to call Trotter’s supervisor, to which Trotter responded that he was “fine with” McCarthy contacting his supervisor since he was doing his job as a journalist.
Following their exchange, Trotter received a text message from Todd Sperry, who directed him to “stand down” in his reporting on the story. Trotter questioned Sperry’s directive, expressing his belief that journalists should always pursue the truth. Sperry did not respond to Trotter’s message.
Although the incident itself is not directly relevant to Trotter’s claims, it supports his argument that the NFL and NFL Media are closely intertwined, with the league exerting control over NFL Network and media outlets. Trotter alleges that this incident illustrates the NFL’s inclination to silence employees who speak out on matters unfavorable to the league, claiming that it aligns with his experience facing resistance when addressing discrimination issues.
The lawsuit shines a light on the NFL’s sensitivity to any suggestion that the league office initially directed the Bills-Bengals game to proceed despite Hamlin’s serious injury. Trotter argues that it would have been simpler for the NFL to acknowledge that injuries often require a stoppage of play and that they changed their plan once the severity of Hamlin’s injury became apparent.
Trotter’s overarching point is that the NFL has the ability and willingness to control journalists employed by the league. He asserts that this conflict of interest is unsurprising since a sports league hiring and paying reporters to cover its activities inherently creates such conflicts. Trotter emphasizes the importance of establishing a firewall between reporting functions and the league’s business operations, but he highlights multiple instances where that firewall was insufficient.
Essentially, the NFL wants to ensure that its in-house media operations, as well as reporters from league partners, refrain from reporting, analyzing, or providing commentary that may paint the league in a negative light. Trotter suggests that if the league displays this attitude towards non-league reporters, it is more likely to occur, perhaps more frequently, with reporters employed by the league itself.