Some troubling comments attributed to Terry Pegula (and denied by Pegula) and Jerry Jones from SI Writer Jim Trotter’s Lawsuit against the NFL

[LabattBlue]

We all better hope this is not true, because if it is, his ability to stay on as owner of the Bills AND the Sabres may be in jeopardy.  

[shrader]

17 minutes ago, Night Train said:

They get offended. Green grenades all over the lawn ! 

I meant the Canadians of the human variety, never getting offended.

Edited September 12, 2023 by shrader

[K-9]

27 minutes ago, shrader said:

I’m waiting for the day that someone gets offended when I yell at the geese to go back to Canada. Fortunately Canadians don’t get offended. 

[Scottysabres]

26 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Could you stop by and get your geese outta my backyard......thanks

[LGR4GM]

4 hours ago, Eleven said:

Yeah, the guy who married a woman of a different race and who has several brown kids is going to say something like that.  Eyeroll thingy.

This comment is very cringy.

[JohnC]

5 hours ago, ... said:

Uhm, if the attribution or representation of the comment is false or inaccurate and readily provable in a courtroom you bet your tushy he should take that to court. If you believe otherwise you have no idea how fast ideas and statements are spread through the public consciousness and how damaging something like this can be to a person's reputation. He sues, or threatens to sue and if the person who posted immediately doesn't retract and issue a public apology using an equally effective dissemination campaign then he proceeds fully with the suit. Assuming, of course, he didn't say it.

Read @Cascade Youth comments on this issue. He addresses the law and not the emotional reaction to this issue. 

[JohnC]

5 hours ago, Pimlach said:

It just might be worth it to him, he might feel very strongly about clearing the air.  It he doesn’t go beyond this statement then these claims hang around uncontested.  

I respectfully disagree. If he pursues this issue in a legal forum it will be around for years. Civil cases often take years to come to trial. Filing a case can be done quickly. Having it come to the point where it will be challenged in court takes years. 

As I said to another poster @Cascade Youthhas a good grasp of the law on this issue. His responses are worth considering. 

Edited September 12, 2023 by JohnC

[GrassValleyGreg]

6 hours ago, Eleven said:

Yeah, the guy who married a woman of a different race and who has several brown kids is going to say something like that.  Eyeroll thingy.

this is a wildly tone deaf and ignorant thing to say and the fact it got 5 likes is worrisome

[GoPre]

2 hours ago, GrassValleyGreg said:

this is a wildly tone deaf and ignorant thing to say and the fact it got 5 likes is worrisome

Make it 6 

Don’t over think.  He was making a point.  

[nfreeman]

In case anyone is interested, the complaint is here:  https://www.wigdorlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Trotter-Complaint.pdf

The TP stuff is on pp. 31-32.

Some facts:

- Trotter was working for NFL Network and his contract wasn't renewed.

- He hired a major employment law firm to bring this case.

- Trotter alleges that he attended a zoom meeting with about 40 media members in September 2020.  At that meeting, an unnamed media member allegedly told the group that TP, in an interview with him, made the "go back to Africa" statement. 

- So Trotter didn't hear TP say this -- he allegedly heard someone else, who isn't identified in the complaint, say it -- but none of the 40 media members who allegedly heard this story reported it.

- There does not appear to be a recording of the zoom meeting or of the alleged interview with TP.

 

[shrader]

14 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

In case anyone is interested, the complaint is here:  https://www.wigdorlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Trotter-Complaint.pdf

The TP stuff is on pp. 31-32.

Some facts:

- Trotter was working for NFL Network and his contract wasn't renewed.

- He hired a major employment law firm to bring this case.

- Trotter alleges that he attended a zoom meeting with about 40 media members in September 2020.  At that meeting, an unnamed media member allegedly told the group that TP, in an interview with him, made the "go back to Africa" statement. 

- So Trotter didn't hear TP say this -- he allegedly heard someone else, who isn't identified in the complaint, say it -- but none of the 40 media members who allegedly heard this story reported it.

- There does not appear to be a recording of the zoom meeting or of the alleged interview with TP.

 

Did you get to the Jerry Jones stuff? I’d be curious to see if any of that was recorded. The few headlines I’ve run across today are so inflammatory towards Pegula, essentially saying “Bills owner is a racist, <tiny font>allegedly</tiny font>.”
 

I’d be curious to see his details since he’s being handled with the kid gloves. 

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, JohnC said:

I respectfully disagree. If he pursues this issue in a legal forum it will be around for years. Civil cases often take years to come to trial. Filing a case can be done quickly. Having it come to the point where it will be challenged in court takes years. 

As I said to another poster @Cascade Youthhas a good grasp of the law on this issue. His responses are worth considering. 

You can disagree all you want.  If this hearsay that Trotter heard from an unnamed 3rd party really blows up against Pegula then he may have no choice but to fight back.  He has the time and the resources to do it.  

[nfreeman]

9 minutes ago, shrader said:

Did you get to the Jerry Jones stuff? I’d be curious to see if any of that was recorded. The few headlines I’ve run across today are so inflammatory towards Pegula, essentially saying “Bills owner is a racist, <tiny font>allegedly</tiny font>.”
 

I’d be curious to see his details since he’s being handled with the kid gloves. 

The complaint doesn’t mention a recording of the Jerry Jones stuff, so I assume there isn’t one. On the other hand, at least Trotter was the person that Jones allegedly spoke with, so there isn’t an unidentified third party in the middle, as there is with TP.

[klos1963]

10 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

I can’t imagine Terry being dumb enough to think such a thing     And if he is dumb enough to think that -there is no way in hell he says it out loud 

I don't put anything past anyone these days.  I have no expectations that anyone isn't a jerk behind the scenes.

[klos1963]

9 hours ago, Eleven said:

Yeah, the guy who married a woman of a different race and who has several brown kids is going to say something like that.  Eyeroll thingy.

Kim was pretty hot , though.

[Stoner]

TBN has some additional context: "cringeworthy" statements Terry made about how the league needed an African-American to lead its PR campaign on social issues, not a white owner.

Another one I recall is this:

"I'm a little confused," Terry said next. "I'm sitting on the stage between Mayor [Byron] Brown and Ted Black, yet I look over there, and I'm wondering, is something backwards here?"

Terry's more than capable of wandering into this minefield.

[GrassValleyGreg]

2 hours ago, GoPre said:

Make it 6 

Don’t over think.  He was making a point.  

In what world is a white-asian mixed race kid called brown (note: my child is half Japanese/half white)? In what world does being married to a Korean-American disqualify you from being racist against a completely different race?

It's a stupid comment that I'm happy has exposed the similar minded. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by GrassValleyGreg

[PerreaultForever]

11 hours ago, bg17 said:

Anything at all in the way of data to support “usually” and “more often than not”?

What? You think I've tabulated these things and kept files? Just bite me.

I'm old. I've been around for lots of these things and remember lots more. From all the bad players to all the bad owners, and yes, there's usually some fire to the smoke. Not 100% of the time, but more often than not by far. 

Would it really be that shocking? 

[Mango]

Just for some clarification, the suit isn’t actually about Terry. There is almost a guarantee that there is no defamation suit coming.

Basically Trotter reported what he heard about Pegula through a colleague and what he heard from Jerry Jones first hand to the league. He heard nothing. Nobody every called him or his source on the Pegula quote to verify despite Trotters multiple proactive attempts to follow up on his own.

Trotter then started asking Goodell about various DEI initiatives publicly. 

Trotter then did not have his contract renewed after he was insured it would be. He is asserting that his complaints and follow up to the league are part of why he isn’t employed, and that the league didn’t do their due diligence because they never interviewed anybody about the complaints.

Assuming Terry didn’t say this (for the sake of this post) and Trotter is correct here Pegula’s name is being dragged through the mud because of the League’s ineptitude, not Trotter.

Whether or not Pegula said it isn’t terribly relevant to the case because the league barely looked into it. But if he did he can GTFO out of my town. 

[Stoner]

7 hours ago, nfreeman said:

In case anyone is interested, the complaint is here:  https://www.wigdorlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Trotter-Complaint.pdf

The TP stuff is on pp. 31-32.

Some facts:

- Trotter was working for NFL Network and his contract wasn't renewed.

- He hired a major employment law firm to bring this case.

- Trotter alleges that he attended a zoom meeting with about 40 media members in September 2020.  At that meeting, an unnamed media member allegedly told the group that TP, in an interview with him, made the "go back to Africa" statement. 

- So Trotter didn't hear TP say this -- he allegedly heard someone else, who isn't identified in the complaint, say it -- but none of the 40 media members who allegedly heard this story reported it.

- There does not appear to be a recording of the zoom meeting or of the alleged interview with TP.

 

How is the last item a fact?

[Stoner]

@That Aud Smell put the coffee on. I'm interested in your opinion of Terry's statement.

[Stoner]

8 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Trotter didn't hear TP say this -- he allegedly heard someone else, who isn't identified in the complaint, say it -- but none of the 40 media members who allegedly heard this story reported it.

Clarification is needed. These were employees of the NFL. NFL Media. They were not media members in the traditional sense. Brian Duff for example is not a media member. I think you want to give the impression that someone among 40 "journalists" would have reported it, and the fact they didn't is evidence the quote was not mentioned. But they were not journalists. It's hardly shocking that NFL employees wouldn't touch that quote.

You'd think that among the 40 people said to have heard what Trotter alleges, at least a few would come out and say, "That never happened."

[RochesterExpat]

Despite the talk about defamation, no one has pointed out the obvious: Pegula is a public figure. That makes any defamation case he brings against an individual to be substantially more difficult. 

”The person who told me the quote, Larry King, stated it as a fact. I was just repeating what I heard. He may have lied or embellished it. I don’t know. As noted, I didn’t claim to hear it first hand. I repeated it because it was materially relevant to my own lawsuit.”

That statement is almost certainly enough to have the suit dismissed. You would need to prove that he knowingly lied and acted with “actual malice.”Meeting that threshold is extraordinarily difficult because the courts require “clear and convincing” evidence which is difficult to satisfy.

The majority of statements made in court do have a shield from defamation suits—as someone pointed out—but that does not extend to a plaintiff’s statements about a third party in a complaint (complaint didn’t load for me but based on what’s posted it seems like TP is a third party).

[MISabresFan]

"If the Black players don't like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is."

"If Black players don't like it here, they should go to Africa, and see how bad it is." 

 

Look what one word can do.  Or a comma...ask Mahomes.

[Mango]

1 hour ago, RochesterExpat said:

Despite the talk about defamation, no one has pointed out the obvious: Pegula is a public figure. That makes any defamation case he brings against an individual to be substantially more difficult. 

”The person who told me the quote, Larry King, stated it as a fact. I was just repeating what I heard. He may have lied or embellished it. I don’t know. As noted, I didn’t claim to hear it first hand. I repeated it because it was materially relevant to my own lawsuit.”

That statement is almost certainly enough to have the suit dismissed. You would need to prove that he knowingly lied and acted with “actual malice.”Meeting that threshold is extraordinarily difficult because the courts require “clear and convincing” evidence which is difficult to satisfy.

The majority of statements made in court do have a shield from defamation suits—as someone pointed out—but that does not extend to a plaintiff’s statements about a third party in a complaint (complaint didn’t load for me but based on what’s posted it seems like TP is a third party).

The statement around Pegula is that it was reported to the league and the league didn’t do their due diligence and instead did not extend the employees (Trotter) despite previous promises otherwise.
 

There is no defamation suit to be had because Trotter will say, “I don’t know if he said it. Neither does the league because they swept my official complaint under the rug rather than doing their due diligence. And when I tried to follow up I was blown off and then lost the contract I was promised”.