Jim Trotter’s main criticism was that journalists, including Stephen A. Smith, were discussing his NFL discrimination lawsuit without first reading the complaint or speaking directly with him.

Trotter was particularly upset after Smith interviewed NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on First Take and accepted Goodell’s explanation that Trotter’s contract was not renewed because of budget cuts. Trotter texted Smith afterward, arguing that speaking to him first would have provided important context.

According to Trotter, Smith responded that he had spoken with a mutual source and that the interview wasn’t about Trotter. Their exchange became heated, with Trotter ultimately challenging Smith to have him on the show to tell his side. Smith declined.

Trotter’s broader point was about journalistic responsibility: he said journalists should seek the truth rather than simply obtain a comment, and that anyone commenting on his lawsuit should either read the complaint or contact him directly before forming conclusions.

“The biggest disappointment in this whole process for me has been the people who are journalists who speak on my case without actually reading the complaint, or without talking to me first about it,” Trotter told Johnson. “So Stephen A. Smith has the Commissioner on his show, and he asks the Commissioner about my contract not being renewed and the Commissioner says, ‘Oh, it was just a budget cut thing.’ So when that was all over, I texted him. And I said, ‘Man, I saw the interview. I just wish you had called me first to get some background and it would have shown you that what the Commissioner said was untrue.’

“He comes back and says to me, ‘That’s on you. We had been advertising the Commissioner was coming on for a week and a half, and I also spoke to a mutual friend who gave me background on the case.’

“So I had texted him back, and I said — and you know, I’m trying to be cool, because I’m not into this Black man on Black man, you know, crime thing — and I said to him, I said, ‘A lot of assumptions there. But I also thought as journalists we were taught you go directly to the source and not to second-hand information.’

“And now that set him off. I got all caps coming at me, I got exclamation points coming at me and all this other stuff. And he’s telling me how this wasn’t about me, and ESPN is a partner with the NFL, and he didn’t have to ask Roger Goodell that question at all, and this, that, and the other. And so finally I said to him, ‘Well, you can have me on to give my side.’ I said, ‘Your move.’ And he said, again, the exclamation points, ‘That ain’t happening. This wasn’t about you. And I did you a courtesy by even getting the Commissioner to comment on it.’

“So anyway at the end of it I just said, ‘A courtesy, huh?’ I said, ‘Man, I appreciate you.’ And I left it alone.

“And I got to thinking, I’m like, as journalists are we simply seeking a comment, or are we seeking the truth? So don’t sit up here and tell me what a great journalist you are if all you are seeking is a comment, instead of the truth.

“You can disagree with me. You can tell me I’m an idiot for filing the lawsuit. And as you went on your podcast and said, ‘I should have known what was gonna happen.’ And I didn’t even see it, people were texting me about his podcast, where he says he reached out to two Black executives not at the NFL or ESPN and asked them, ‘What would they have done if someone like me had put them on the spot like that publicly?’ And they both said, ‘They would have got my ass up out of there.’

“And what I wanted to say to him, ‘Do you even understand the law?’ Because if either of those individuals had done that to someone, they would be breaking the law. But you’re gonna go ahead and say I should know what could happen? There’s a difference between knowing what could happen and the consequences of those actions. So, to me, that’s the only disappointing thing in this whole process is that I would just ask journalists, if you’re gonna speak on this, I don’t mind you having an opinion — you can tell me I was foolish, whatever you want — all I ask is that you read the complaint, or that if you have questions, you call me. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”(Slate.com podcast with Jason Johnson)