Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he has issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL regarding the Rooney Rule.
Uthmeier, who threatened possible enforcement actions against the league in March if it didn’t suspend the 23-year-old rule, sent the subpoena along with a letter to NFL executive vice president and attorney Ted Ullyot on Wednesday.
“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.
The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates for head coach, general manager and coordinator positions. At least one minority candidate must be interviewed for the quarterbacks coach position.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking at the league meetings in Phoenix in March, acknowledged the changing political landscape for diversity initiatives in the U.S., but added that he didn’t believe there should be any legal issues with the league’s policy. “The Rooney Rule has been around a long time,” Goodell said then. “We’ve evolved it, changed it. We’ll continue to do that.”
The NFL didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
In his latest letter, Uthmeier commended the league for altering the Rooney Rule language on its website after receiving his initial warning letter in March but added the revisions raise more questions.
The updated terminology on the NFL site says: “The Rooney Rule establishes best practices designed to expand opportunity and strengthen the NFL’s talent pipeline across leadership roles. It is part of a broader effort to develop a deep and sustainable talent pipeline across all levels of the NFL. The policy is intended to ensure that qualified candidates from a wide range of backgrounds are identified and considered for leadership roles.”
The website previously stated the Rooney Rule aims to “increase the number of minorities hired” in leadership positions and said 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.”
Uthmeier sent his first letter to Goodell in March saying the rule amounts to “blatant race and sex discrimination.”
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