Cowboys Jerry Jones’ alleged quote on lack of Black personnel in NFL surfaces

A quote by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appeared in a 53-page complaint filed by former NFL Network reporter Jim Trotter, who alleges the league did not renew his contract in retaliation for his continued questions about the league’s lack of diversity at the home office.

Trotter filed a lawsuit against the NFL and the league-owned cable channel for racial discrimination. Among the complaints, the lawsuit claims that in August of 2020, Trotter asked the Cowboys owner why there weren’t more black professionals in decision-making positions and Jones allegedly responded by saying: “If Blacks feel some kind of way, they should buy their own team and hire who they want to hire.”

Trotter also mentioned Jones on-air, during his 2021 coverage when racist emails coming from former NFL head coach Jon Gruden came to light. The lawsuit claims that two of Trotter’s supervisors instructed him to avoid the Jones comments.

According to the complaint, his supervisor asked one of Trotters colleagues: “Why does Jim keep bringing this up?”

After working for the NFL Network for five years, vice president Sandra Nunez told Trotter’s agent in November of 2022 that she “could not envision any reason why his contract would not be renewed.” That was before Trotter pressed the NFL commissioner about the topic.

This is not the first time Jones has come under scrutiny over racial divides. In November 2022, a photo from 1957 shows a young Jones, who was a high school sophomore at the time, in the vicinity of white students blocking black students from entering their school. Jones also apologized back in 2013 after being recorded making racially insensitive remarks to a woman.

Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys have yet to release a statement on the matter.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire