Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has issued a subpoena to the National Football League (NFL), escalating an investigation into potential civil rights violations tied to the Rooney Rule and other employment practices. The subpoena, sent Wednesday to NFL executive vice president and attorney Ted Ullyot, demands the league appear at the attorney general’s office in Tallahassee, Florida, on June 12, and provide extensive documentation.
Subpoena Details and Demands
The subpoena requests a broad range of materials, including all diversity reports, coaching census data, and demographic surveys reflecting the race and sex of coaching staffs from 2017 to the present. In an accompanying letter, Uthmeier wrote: “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.”
Background on the Rooney Rule
The Rooney Rule, established in 2003, requires NFL teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for head coach, general manager, and coordinator positions, and at least one minority candidate for quarterbacks coach. Uthmeier had previously threatened enforcement actions in March, calling the rule “blatant race and sex discrimination.”
NFL’s Response and Policy Evolution
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking at league meetings in Phoenix in March, acknowledged the shifting political landscape but expressed confidence in the policy’s legality. “The Rooney Rule has been around a long time. We’ve evolved it, changed it. We’ll continue to do that,” Goodell said. The NFL declined to comment on the subpoena on Wednesday.
In a letter to Uthmeier dated May 1, the league defended the rule: “The NFL’s pursuit of top-tier talent led to the adoption of the Rooney Rule in 2003. Importantly, the Rooney Rule does not impose any hiring quotas or mandates, and it does not license clubs to consider race or sex in making hiring decisions. Hiring decisions for NFL teams are made by the individual clubs — not the League — and those decisions are based on merit.” The letter also noted that the rule “neither requires, nor permits, any team to make a hiring decision on the basis of race, sex, or any other protected characteristic.”
Website Changes and Remaining Concerns
Uthmeier commended the NFL for updating its website language after his initial warning, but said the revisions raised further questions. The updated description states the Rooney Rule “establishes best practices designed to expand opportunity and strengthen the NFL’s talent pipeline across leadership roles” and is “intended to ensure that qualified candidates from a wide range of backgrounds are identified and considered.” Previously, the site had stated the rule aimed to “increase the number of minorities hired” and that diversity “enriches the game.”
“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.”
Expanded Investigation
The current subpoena broadens the probe beyond the Rooney Rule to include other NFL diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. These cover a discontinued mandate requiring teams to hire a minority offensive assistant, the diversity accelerator program, the Mackie development program for college officials, and a resolution awarding teams draft picks if a minority assistant or executive is hired as a coach or general manager by another team.
The NFL’s front office and coach accelerator program, paused in 2025, is scheduled to resume next week in Orlando. Created in 2022 as an extension of the Rooney Rule, it will now include non-minority participants.
