Terry Pegula is ALLEGED to have said something very foul in the Jim Trotter lawsuit against the NFL

[appoo]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

If it's not his quote, of course he would denounce it. And if it is his quote the FIRST rule of business is to deny deny deny. I'm just saying it's a meaningless statement that was likely made by a PR department. 

There's literally 0 evidence of Pegula harboring these kinds of thoughts, while we multiple pieces of evidence that Terry is on the pro side of the racial justice debate

Edited September 12, 2023 by appoo

[Dancing Fool]

9 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Why would he pick Pegula to bring down? If he wanted to bring down the NFL, he would make up a story about the Bills' owner?

If he wanted to bring down the NFL, why would he try to take down one of the owners of a NFL team?

 

That seems straightforward enough, eh?

 

It is easier to take down a beast by picking it apart than by doing it all at once.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Dancing Fool

[The Frankish Reich]

18 minutes ago, CodeMonkey said:

The tweet shows this.  It cites a reference but without the document who knows what that reference is.  

 

 

"Mr. Trotter raised complaints and concerns about this remark but no remedial action was taken."

So he appears to be alleging that he included this quote in a complaint to the NFL poohbahs about what (he says) Pegula said. That would mean there's some evidence that at least he isn't bringing this forward for the first time now. That helps his case a bit, but it certainly doesn't prove that Pegula actually made this comment. We'd have to see what the NFL did with it. If they asked Pegula if he said this and he denied it then, I guess we're to the point where what all the other owners said they'd heard in the meeting is the key evidence.

Cue that popcorn gif ...

[nucci]

Back during the kneeling and protests many white people made similar comments. Remember " shut up and dribble"? Having said that, I doubt Pegula said this.

[UKBillFan]

3 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

I suspect that it is true and I wish Terry would admit it and apologize sincerely rather than lying, denying, and eventually being undone by evidence.

 

Did the Araiza situation teach you anything?

 

Guess it is still a case of guilty before being proven innocent.

[appoo]

[frostbitmic]

4 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Why would he pick Pegula to bring down? If he wanted to bring down the NFL, he would make up a story about the Bills' owner?

Has anyone seen or read the entire lawsuit ? ... It's possible or likely that others are mentioned.

 

Maybe Terry didn't hire him for a job he wanted. There could be a million reasons (or many millions in his lawsuit) why he chose Pegula.

[The Frankish Reich]

1 minute ago, nucci said:

Back during the kneeling and protests many white people made similar comments. Remember " shut up and dribble"? Having said that, I doubt Pegula said this.

I doubt it too. It would just seem out of character for him. He's never been known as a blowhard, much less as a racist blowhard.

Could I see him (or indeed any business owner) saying "my employees should just shut up and be glad they have a good job?" Sure. But the back to Africa stuff just doesn't ring true. 

We shall see.

[appoo]

https://www.buffalobills.com/news/listen-learn-love-how-kim-pegula-and-the-bills-are-placing-importance-on-continu

 

"I've always felt that I was a big supporter of social justice, racial equality, diversity and inclusion," said (KIM)  Pegula. "The murder of George Floyd and the attention that it's brought to the Black community and the outcry that we've heard from around the country, made me really look at myself and stop to say, 'What have I really done?' 'How do I really feel?' 'What are some of the things I can learn?' And that is why we brought it forward to our staff in our 'Listen, Learn, Love' panel. We really want to make sure that people stop and learn and listen about the issues, the experiences and what people have to say.

"We also heard from some of our players, from some of our coaches and staff that said, 'Listen, we just want to have this conversation. We just want to share; we just want people to hear what we've been through or what we've seen.' I think it was really important for us to take that approach to listen first. If we don't listen, we're not going to learn and if we're not learning, we're not empathizing. It's hard for us to push agendas forward when we haven't even stopped to listen to what the message is."

To enable a productive and meaningful conversation, employees were recently given a chance to hear directly from organizational and area leaders on ways to foster a community focused on equality and love through a virtual discussion. Moderated by former Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, the "Listen, Learn, Love" panel featured defensive coordinator/assistant head coach Leslie Frazier, defensive end Jerry Hughes, director of player engagement & alumni Marlon Kerner and local pastor and advocate Ken Simmons. The group answered staff questions and shared personal stories, offering different perspectives.

[Cheektowaga Chad]

Bad look for the pegulas and the team

 

Pegulas actions and words publicly are very different than what is in this lawsuit - is their more than one place reporting this? 

[gobills404]

https://x.com/MattParrino/status/1665711759041216513?s=20

[BillsPride12]

I really wasn't expecting this season to off the rails in similar fashion to last year after Week 1....yet here we are

[Buffalo_Stampede]

5 minutes ago, Steptide said:

Terry is so racist, his wife is Asian 

I don’t think the comment was even racist. It was an incredibly dumb and insensitive comment.

[Brother Hesekiah]

Have people not learned anything from the Matt Araiza situation? Just because someone alleges something in a court filing (particularly an initial complaint), it doesn't automatically mean it's true.  

[TheBrownBear]

21 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

The man is so racist that he married an Asian woman and had a bunch of interracial children.

 

It's an ignorant statement but I'd say let's wait for the details to come out before running him out of town.

That doesn't mean he didn't say it.  Human beings are complicated. My white grandfather married outside his race, his best friends were Black, he raised mixed race children and he still would occasionally use bigoted language. 

 

Also, unpopular take, but if Terry did say this, I still think he should be extended grace to admit to his errors, ask for forgiveness and given the opportunity to prove he has changed.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he's already undergone this type of internal change based on his actions in the wake of the Topps shooting.  It should also be noted that he's used his personal fortune to support African American causes on various occasions.

[WEATHER DOT COM]

Beyond inexcusable. 

 

This would have been a stupid thing to say in 1990.

 

Between this and the fracking I think I've lost any and all respect for the man.

[TheWeatherMan]

45 minutes ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

There are lots of stupid people out there with money…

Mostly the ones who inherited it, but yeah.  

[appoo]

Just now, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I don’t think the comment was even racist. It was an incredibly dumb and insensitive comment.

The ALLEGED comment was pure racism from a xenophobic place

[Pecos Bills]

Here's the full complaint FYI:

 

https://www.wigdorlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Trotter-Complaint.pdf

 

Full Pegula details start on page 31.  Allegedly was reported by another NFL media person during a zoom meeting in 2020, doesn't sound likely there's any direct audio/video of Pegula saying it.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Pecos Bills

[Dancing Fool]

Just now, UKBillFan said:

 

Did the Araiza situation teach you anything?

 

Guess it is still a case of guilty before being proven innocent.

Such is the way of the world. People natively side with accusers no matter what the situation is.

 

Even after evidence has proven allegations to be incorrect, many lose their lives due to liars who are only out for spite and profit.

 

I have seen no hard evidence one way or the other, of course. As I have said before, if it is demonstrated to be true then there is no context that would make this acceptable. I just have seen too many innocents have their lives destroyed by manipulative scum to buy such accusations wholesale.

[Brand J]

Terry seems like a stand up guy and I can’t picture him saying something like this, even in an off-color joking manner. I’ll stand by his side unless there’s recorded proof. Trotter better hope there is.

[appoo]

3 minutes ago, Brother Hesekiah said:

Have people not learned anything from the Matt Araiza situation? Just because someone alleges something in a court filing (particularly an initial complaint), it doesn't automatically mean it's true.  

Just to be clear, this is MASSIVELY different from the Araiza situation, where there was not only actual evidence that suggested wrong doing, but something like 95% of women's complaints in those situations turn out to be accurate

Edited September 12, 2023 by appoo

[McDeerInTheHeadlights]

8 minutes ago, What a Tuel said:

 

Are all the overreactors going to reel themselves back in now? Or are we going with "why would someone in a lawsuit ever make ***** up" lol.

 

Exactly. Bills fans should remember what happened with Araiza. Pump on those brakes once upon a time.

[Bubba Gump]

Disgusting. All I can say if true. 

 

 

 

[Einstein]

55 minutes ago, Rhyno716 said:

What a dumb *****. There is no defending this.

 

Yeah, if true, there is no way to spin this.

[BuffaloBillyG]

5 minutes ago, appoo said:

There's literally 0 evidence of Pegula harboring these kinds of thoughts, while we multiple pieces of evidence that Terry is on the pro side of the racial justice debate

Valid point. And if it turns out the statement if false that would be magnificent and Terry should pursue legal action to the fullest extent of the law. 

 

However, the flip side may be that if it's true Terry wouldn't exactly be the first person that had private opinion that differs from public persona either. 

 

As of now it's a he said/he said. Let's see where it goes before condemning or defending.

[Bray Wyatt]

17 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Why would he pick Pegula to bring down? If he wanted to bring down the NFL, he would make up a story about the Bills' owner?

 I believe he is like the 5th richest owner

[BullBuchanan]

2 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I don’t think the comment was even racist. It was an incredibly dumb and insensitive comment.

YIKES.

I'm not shocked that society can't have a meaningful discussion about institutional racism when actual - "GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM" xenophobia just goes straight through folks in 2023.

[mannc]

We'll have to see if there is a recording.  Nowadays, when someone quotes specific language in a lawsuit, there is frequently a recording to back it up.

[Low Positive]

If he said it in this meeting. it was held over Zoom and was probably recorded

https://jaguarswire.usatoday.com/2020/06/25/nfl-owners-to-hold-virtual-meeting-thursday-to-discuss-social-justice-2020-season/

[John from Riverside]

My heart just doesn’t want to believe that he said this
 

So I’m gonna wait for some kind of proof that he actually did

[UKBillFan]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Valid point. And if it turns out the statement if false that would be magnificent and Terry should pursue legal action to the fullest extent of the law. 

 

However, the flip side may be that if it's true Terry wouldn't exactly be the first person that had private opinion that differs from public persona either. 

 

As of now it's a he said/he said. Let's see where it goes before condemning or defending.

 

The two key for me are that the lawsuit directly quotes Pegula. It doesn't say, "is reported to have said" or "was suggested". He's quoted verbatim. However, Pegula has come out quickly to rebuke the accusation.

 

If Pegula is found out to be lying he will be hauled over the coals and rightly so. If it's Trotter, probably nothing will happen.

[Peter]

Two points:

 

1) Don't believe everything you read in a complaint. We will see whether there is any evidence to back this up. It sure does not sound like Terry given everything we know about him. Also, let's not forget that he is married to a minority and didn't one of his daughters date Jason Croom. The allegation could be true, but we should wait to see how this develops before trashing the guy.

 

2) I am surprised that some here and the guys on WGR are not trying to blame Dorsey for this given that they think he is responsible for everything that is bad in this world from Josh throwing three interceptions to Russia invading the Ukraine.

[Lost]

4 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

YIKES.

I'm not shocked that society can't have a meaningful discussion about institutional racism when actual - "GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM" xenophobia just goes straight through folks in 2023.

 

Well plenty of fans here are calling for McDermott to go back to Carolina where he came from 😂

[TheBrownBear]

2 minutes ago, mannc said:

We'll have to see if there is a recording.  Nowadays, when someone quotes specific language in a lawsuit, there is frequently a recording to back it up.

I doubt there is or it would likely be noted in the complaint (or it honestly would have already been leaked and the case settled).  You throw everything out there in the complaint and hope public opinion applies enough pressure to get the NFL to settle.

[Pecos Bills]

1 minute ago, UKBillFan said:

 

The two key for me are that the lawsuit directly quotes Pegula. It doesn't say, "is reported to have said" or "was suggested". He's quoted verbatim. However, Pegula has come out quickly to rebuke the accusation.

 

If Pegula is found out to be lying he will be hauled over the coals and rightly so. If it's Trotter, probably nothing will happen.

Here's some of the fuller text from the lawsuit, in which an NFL Media reporter describes a separate conversation with Pegula:

 

126. During the meeting, an NFL Media reporter described a conversation he had with Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula in which Mr. Pegula was speaking about the recent emphasis on social activism by NFL players, and in particular support for Black Lives Matter.

127. As reported, Mr. Pegula stated that, “If the Black players don’t like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is.” 

 

https://www.wigdorlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Trotter-Complaint.pdf

[Buffalo_Stampede]

4 minutes ago, appoo said:

The ALLEGED comment was pure racism from a xenophobic place

Racism to me is hateful action or speech.

 

I don’t think the comment is meant to be hateful.

[Wayne Arnold]

4 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

Terry seems like a stand up guy and I can’t picture him saying something like this, even in an off-color joking manner. I’ll stand by his side unless there’s recorded proof. Trotter better hope there is.

 

He's an awkward billionaire who has a history of putting his foot in his mouth. I can absolutely see him saying something like this.

[Tommy Callahan]

he is probably filing a slander lawsuit as we speak.

 

 

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

12 minutes ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

What leads you to suspect it is true?  If he didn’t say it, why would he admit it and apologize?

Because it is, frankly, completely reckless, irresponsible, and inexplicable to completely make up quotes and attribute them to someone without justification in a lawsuit. It's legal suicide. And if he did take the irrational step to make up quotes, why would he pick Pegula to attribute them to? Of all the owners, why would he pick Pegula to target?

 

This isn't some wild take. I think it's more likely than not to be true, unfortunately, but unless there is a recording, it's not surprising at all that Terry would deny. That would be expected, unless he were more committed to telling the truth than keeping his name clean.