AT A GLANCE
• Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL over the Rooney Rule.
• The Rooney Rule requires NFL teams to interview minority candidates for several leadership positions.
• Uthmeier argues the rule and related diversity policies may violate Florida law.
• The subpoena also focuses on other NFL diversity programs, including hiring initiatives and draft pick incentives.
Florida Attorney General Subpoenas NFL Over Rooney Rule
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL over the Rooney Rule, continuing his push against the league’s diversity hiring policies.
Uthmeier sent the subpoena Wednesday along with a letter to NFL executive vice president and attorney Ted Ullyot. The move comes after Uthmeier warned the league in March that Florida could take enforcement action if the NFL did not suspend the 23 year old rule.
“All in all, the Rooney Rule and the NFL’s related ‘inclusive hiring’ policies, and the NFL’s representations about these policies, continue to raise significant concerns under Florida law,” Uthmeier wrote in the letter.
Rooney Rule Remains Under Review
The Rooney Rule requires NFL teams to interview at least two minority candidates for head coach, general manager and coordinator positions. The rule also requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for the quarterbacks coach position.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the rule during league meetings in Phoenix in March, acknowledging the shifting political environment around diversity initiatives in the United States. Still, Goodell said he did not believe the policy created legal concerns.
“The Rooney Rule has been around a long time,” Goodell said. “We’ve evolved it, changed it. We’ll continue to do that.”
The NFL did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
NFL Website Language Changed After Warning Letter
In his latest letter, Uthmeier said the NFL changed language on its website after receiving his March warning letter. However, he said the revisions created additional concerns.
The NFL’s updated language says the Rooney Rule establishes “best practices designed to expand opportunity and strengthen the NFL’s talent pipeline across leadership roles.” It also says the policy is part of a broader effort to develop a “deep and sustainable talent pipeline” across the league.
The previous version of the NFL website said the Rooney Rule aimed to “increase the number of minorities hired” in leadership roles and stated that diversity “enriches the game and creates a more effective, quality organization.”
“We appreciate how quickly the NFL changed its website in response to our letter and capitulated on some of their discriminatory hiring quotas,” Uthmeier said. “But their response raises more questions about the Rooney Rule, and we look forward to their cooperation with the investigative subpoena we issued them today.”
Subpoena Expands Beyond The Rooney Rule
Uthmeier first wrote to Goodell in March, calling the Rooney Rule “blatant race and sex discrimination.” The new subpoena expands the inquiry beyond the Rooney Rule and includes other NFL diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
The subpoena seeks information related to a discontinued mandate requiring teams to hire a minority offensive assistant, the league’s diversity accelerator program, the Mackie development program for college officials and a resolution awarding draft picks to teams when one of their minority assistant coaches or executives is hired as a head coach or general manager elsewhere.
The NFL’s front office and coach accelerator program is scheduled to take place next week in Orlando after being paused in 2025. The program was created in 2022 as an extension of the Rooney Rule to increase diversity among coaches and front office executives. It will now include nonminority participants.
