Florida Attorney General Wants NFL to Suspend Rooney Rule

Florida attorney general James Uthmeier wants the NFL to suspend the Rooney Rule. 

Uthemeir in a video posted to X said his office plans to send a letter about the rule to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ahead of the league’s annual meeting. The Rooney Rule was instituted in 2003 and requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching, general manager, and executive positions. The league has three teams in Florida and Uthemeir said it shouldn’t apply to those teams because it violates state law. 

“Florida law is clear,” Uthemeir said. “Hiring decisions cannot be based on race, and the Rooney Rule mandates race-based interviews and incentivizes race-based decisions. That’s discrimination. We’re demanding the NFL suspend the Rooney Rule, and failure to do so may result in enforcement actions against the league for race-based discrimination. NFL teams and their fans don’t care about the race of the coaching staff. They want a merit-based system that gives their team the best chance to win.”

The Rooney Rule is named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who once chaired the league’s diversity committee. In its current iteration, the rule rewards teams with draft compensation for developing minority coaches and executives who are then hired by other teams. The NFL has just three Black head coaches after Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stepped down at the end of last season. 

Uthemeir said he would consider “a civil rights enforcement action” against the NFL if it does not suspend the rule, but didn’t elaborate on what that action would be. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

In response to Uthmeier’s comments, the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a nonprofit that works with the NFL to ensure hiring practices are fair and diverse, said “The Rooney Rule doesn’t limit opportunity; it expands it.” 

Fritz Pollard Alliance interim executive director Michele C. Meyer-Shipp said the rule “doesn’t cap who a club can consider or dictate who gets hired and it’s not a hiring rule. What it does is increase fair competition and ensure a true merit-based process by opening the door beyond the traditional ‘tap on the shoulder’ system, so the best candidates from all backgrounds are actually seen, evaluated, and can compete.”

The NFL’s annual meetings, which will run through next Wednesday, are when team owners discuss league business, including possible rule changes. The Rooney Rule was not reported to be on the agenda for this year’s meeting. 

An NFL spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.