As promised, Jim Trotter is paying it forward.
Months after settling his racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, the retired Hall of Fame journalist has launched a program with Howard University to support aspiring sports journalists. Through his recently established Work, Plan, Pray Foundation, Trotter has gifted $300,000 for a five-year program at his alma mater.
“I’m trying to make a difference,” Trotter told USA TODAY Sports.
The funds will be disbursed with three distinct purposes. First, to subsidize travel and housing expenses for students working on unpaid internships in the industry.
Second, to sponsor travel and lodging expenses for students to attend networking events, such as the annual convention for the National Association of Black Journalists.
Third, to establish fellowships that will contribute money for tuition and school expenses for two high-achieving students each year.
Trotter, who in 2023 received the prestigious Bill Nunn Memorial Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame for career achievement in covering pro football and was the NABJ’s Journalist of the Year, can relate to the impact of supporting students. He received financial assistance while studying journalism at Howard during the 1980s.
“It helped me concentrate on school,” he recalled. “This is a way for me to try to help that next generation.”
Trotter, who retired earlier this year as senior NFL columnist at The Athletic, sued the NFL in 2023 for retaliation after his contract as a reporter with NFL Media was not renewed.
In the lawsuit, Trotter maintained that the NFL refused to address his concerns about institutional discrimination – reflected with zero Black senior editors in a newsroom for a league media operation covering predominantly Black players – and was embarrassed when he challenged Commissioner Roger Goodell about it during two Super Bowl press conferences. Trotter, whose role at NFL Media included extensive exposure on the NFL Network, also cited alleged racially insensitive comments by two NFL owners, Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Terry Pegula of the Buffalo Bills in the lawsuit. The NFL denied Trotter’s allegations.
“The only thing I was doing was trying to make sure the NFL’s actions reflected its word,” Trotter said, alluding to diversity, equity and inclusion commitments.
Terms of the settlement Trotter reached with the NFL in October were undisclosed, although he maintained it included a donation from the league to his scholarship foundation supporting journalism students at HBCUs.
He said fundraising efforts are underway for his foundation to support more students. For more information, visit: www.workplanprayfoundation.org.
Retired or not, his work is not done. That much hit home as he spoke to students this week in journalism classes at Howard.
“They are so bright, so energetic, so smart,” Trotter said. “It gives me hope, moving forward.”
Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell