Jim Trotter: NFL Exec Said 'Stand Down' on Reporting on Damar Hamlin, Bills, Bengals

Jim Trotter's recently filed lawsuit against the NFL and its media arm includes allegations an NFL Network official told him to "stand down" regarding his reporting surrounding Damar Hamlin's medical emergency last season, according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

Calling the game, Joe Buck said during the Monday Night Football broadcast that Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills players were told they needed to warm up in preparation for the game's resumption after Hamlin had suffered cardiac arrest and was transported to a local hospital. Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, disputed the story, but ESPN stood by Buck's reporting.

Trotter's lawsuit offers further support of what was initially presented to fans.

"In the days that followed, Mr. Trotter learned that the teams were in fact instructed that play would resume after a five-minute warm-up, explaining why the players had been doing so," his lawsuit said, per Florio. "This decision, Mr. Trotter and other reporters learned, came from the NFL league office not from the officials on the field."

Trotter attempted to report further on the story and speak with the NFL official. However, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy allegedly "refused to make the person available to Mr. Trotter."

According to Florio, Trotter's lawsuit alleges McCarthy told Trotter he would "call your supervisor if you don't let this go." Trotter subsequently received a message from NFL Media executive editor Todd Sperry instructing him to "stand down" from further reporting.

The lawsuit points to this as an example of how the NFL "controls NFL Media" and "throttles content that is critical" of the league, per Florio.

This has long been a concern when it comes to league-owned media arms or reporters who work directly for a league or team.

NFL Media declined to renew Trotter's contract, and he left the company in March before eventually joining The Athletic. As part of his lawsuit, he said his public questioning of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on the league's lack of diversity from the top down played a role in NFL Media's decision to let him go.