Truth: He Said Versus He Said
The facts and truth can be elusive in stories like this yet they are out there
Bias can lead us to believe whatever we want to believe, regardless of what is factual. This means we will confidently assume what isn’t true or reject what is clearly true.
Determining facts can be a difficult enough of a task without bias so you can see how learning what really has happened or is happening in a conflict can be so challenging and a figurative steep climb up a mountain.
“Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula allegedly made a racist comment about Black players in the NFL, according to a racial discrimination lawsuit against the league filed Tuesday by longtime reporter Jim Trotter,” according to a report by ESPN.
“Trotter alleges in the lawsuit that in 2020, a fellow NFL Media reporter recalled a conversation he had with Pegula, who was speaking to the reporter about the NFL's social justice initiatives and Black Lives Matter.
“The reporter, who was not identified in the lawsuit, told Trotter and approximately 40 other NFL Media coworkers during a Zoom call that Pegula said, ‘If the Black players don't like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is.’"
“The lawsuit states that Trotter, who is Black, pressed executives at NFL Media to investigate Pegula's comments, which were ‘highly offensive and racist,’ but that he was ‘repeatedly brushed off and told that 'the league office is investigating it.'"
Pegula has denied making the comment. “The statement attributed to me in Mr. Trotter's complaint is absolutely false," Pegula said. "I am horrified that anyone would connect me to an allegation of this kind. Racism has no place in our society and I am personally disgusted that my name is associated with this complaint."
The NFL agrees. "We take (Trotter’s) concerns seriously, but strongly dispute his specific allegations, particularly those made against his dedicated colleagues at NFL Media.
In response, Trotter has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the league.
“A former NFL Media journalist is accusing the league of refusing to address what he calls long-standing institutional discrimination and said his contract was not renewed because he repeatedly voiced concerns regarding equity and racial injustice.”
Trotter also alleges that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made racist comments.
“The NFL has claimed it wants to be held accountable regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. I tried to do so, and it cost me my job,” Trotter said in a statement released by his law firm, Wigdor. “I’m filing this lawsuit because I can’t complain about things that are wrong if I’m unwilling to fight for what is right.”
Reputation Intelligence
Regardless of the reason for the conflict — ignorance, second-hand news being poorly and falsely relayed or this being a cover up, this story is a problem for the league’s public relations and now, additionally, a legal issue and one involving a Black reporter and a high-profile owner.
Who is telling the truth or more of it? It seems crazy that an owner who depends on the Black player for his product and financial benefit to say ugly, inhumane things in 2023 yet we have heard of it happening before, in the NFL and other major sports.
To be fair, we additionally know that misinformation and disinformation get successfully communicated and spread like a virus.
Where one sits with their initial and strongest feelings over this story will come down to our biases because it is near impossible to know who is telling the truth and who isn’t right now. There simply isn’t enough information available.
Could the respected reporter, Mr. Trotter and the unnamed reporter, be the truth tellers? Absolutely. Could Mr. Pegula? It’s plausible. Could the Bills owner be fearful and deceiving the public with his denial? Of course this is possible too.
Regardless, right now there will be supporters of both Mr. Trotter and Mr. Pegula. People’s loyalty towards either of them will be largely, yet maybe not entirely based on 1) their personal experiences 2) their world view 3) selected examples they’ve witnessed in the news 4) research they conduct and 4) their emotional reactivity.
Both reputations — Trotter’s and Pegula’s — are at stake in this matter and it dearly matters to both men. The unnamed reporter’s reputation is also at stake.
We can and will speculate on what the facts are, even if the evidence is hard to come by and I’m no different. I have assumptions, not conclusions, about what is true.
Time will hopefully clearly reveal, with evidence, what happened and didn’t happen and truth, as most of us hope, will win out.
Michael Toebe is a reputation consultant, advisor and communications specialist at Reputation Quality, assisting individuals and organizations with further building reputation as an asset or ethically protecting, restoring or reconstructing it.
He is also the writer and publisher of the Reputation Notes newsletter on the Substack and LinkedIn platforms.
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