Jim Trotter Complains The Athletic ‘Watered-Down’ Nick Bosa Column Where He Accuses NFL Of Racism

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Jim Trotter is a long-time sports writer most famous for suing the NFL for discrimination. 

In that vein, he penned a column in The Athletic complaining about the league not disciplining Nick Bosa for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat after the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. 

Now, to be clear, the league hasn’t disciplined Bosa YET. He’s likely to incur a fine for wearing an unauthorized logo on an NFL field, but we won’t know that until Saturday, when the league usually makes its weekly fines public. 

But that didn’t stop Jim Trotter from already saying the league probably won’t discipline Bosa because he’s white, and then saying that the league only disciplines black players, like Colin Kaepernick, for on-field demonstrations. 

“Failure to take some sort of action would suggest the presence of a double standard and raise the question of whether the league is more comfortable with a White player using its national spotlight to endorse a presidential candidate than it is with Black players demonstrating against systemic racism,” Trotter wrote. 

Trotter appears to have realized that being a decent sports writer doesn’t pay nearly as much as accusing people and organizations of racism. Thus, he chose the obvious path. 

Apparently, the column that appeared in The Athletic, which is owned by the New York Times, wasn’t even the full breadth of what Trotter actually wanted to say. 

Trotter wrote in a post on X: “Full disclosure, this is the watered-down version of the original column. I was not allowed to properly, [in my opinion], contextualize the significance and consequence of the moment because, I was told, I’d be in violation of the NYT’s journalistic standards regarding sports and political commentary. But that’s a discussion for another day.” 

He later amended his statement to clarify that the original column violated The Athletic’s policies, not those of the New York Times. 

OutKick reached out to The Athletic to ask if Trotter’s claim was true and, if so, which “journalist standards” he violated. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Trotter’s complaint is somewhat ironic because, as I went to find his social media post, I realized that he blocked me on X. 

He believes that The Athletic is trying to silence him, and he has a problem with that, but he has no problem silencing voices with which he disagrees. 

The hypocrisy makes me laugh, especially considering I’ve never interacted with Trotter on social media and this is the first time I’ve ever written about him. 

But back to his “watered-down” column. Trotter says that the league has a problem with black players “demonstrating against systemic racism.” 

That’s an interesting position, considering the league has the words “End Racism” inscribed in the end zones and allows players to affix the phrase “Black Lives Matter” to the backs of their NFL helmets. 

That surely seems like the NFL doesn’t have too big of an issue with left-wing talking points. 

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All of that being said, I do think that if Trotter’s column was edited, that’s a bad move by The Athletic. And I actually agree with Trotter that Bosa shouldn’t have worn a MAGA hat on an NFL field. 

Employees shouldn’t make political statements while at work. It’s no different from the UPS guy delivering a package wearing a “Harris/Walz ’24” or “Make America Great Again” hat. 

Bosa is free to endorse any candidate he wants to endorse, but should do so on his own time. 

Jim Trotter wrote an opinion column, and he’s entitled to his opinion. Even if I disagree with his opinion, I support his right to state it. 

It’s too bad he doesn’t offer me the same courtesy, but that’s OK. Hypocrisy is a staple among the left-wing zealots, so I’d expect nothing different from Trotter. 

I do disagree with his assertion that there’s some double standard for white players vs. black players, at least in the way that he’s implying. 

Players certainly couldn’t have the phrase “All Lives Matter” on their helmets, for example. 

“I’m not holding my breath that any action will be taken against Bosa. The writing is on the wall, and it’s penned in Black and White,” Trotter wrote. 

If you weren’t 100% sure if Trotter was accusing the NFL of racism – again – he makes sure that you know it at the end. If this is the “watered-down” version, I’m really interested to see what the actual version said.

“That said, my issue, for lack of a better word, is not with Bosa. He is who we thought he was,” Trotter also wrote. 

I feel the same way, Jim. My issue is not with you. 

You are exactly who we thought you were.