Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Wednesday warned National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell via letter that the league’s “Rooney Rule” and related diversity hiring policies violate state civil rights law and must no longer be enforced on Florida teams.
The Rooney Rule, first adopted in 2003, requires NFL teams to interview minority candidates for certain head coaching, coordinator and senior football operations jobs as part of the league’s hiring process.
In the March 25 letter, Uthmeier argued that the NFL’s hiring framework improperly requires teams to consider race and sex in filling certain coaching and executive positions. He said the policy, along with related league initiatives, amounts to unlawful discrimination under the Florida Civil Rights Act.
Uthmeier’s letter specifically challenged the Rooney Rule requirement that teams interview minority candidates for head coach, general manager, coordinator and other senior roles. He also pointed to league policies that reward teams with draft-pick incentives for developing minority coaching and executive talent and require teams to employ a female or minority offensive assistant. The letter additionally cited NFL programs designed to expand access and networking opportunities for “diverse” candidates in coaching, front-office and officiating pipelines.
The attorney general said those policies unlawfully “limit, segregate, and classify” applicants and employees based on race and sex, language he tied directly to prohibitions in Florida’s civil rights statute. He also argued the policies violate provisions barring discrimination in apprenticeship and training programs.
The letter asks the NFL to confirm by May 1, 2026, that it will stop enforcing the Rooney Rule “or any variation or extension thereof” on teams in Florida. Uthmeier warned that failure to do so could result in a civil rights enforcement action.
The letter was also copied to the owners of the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as the Florida Commission on Human Relations, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.