Florida subpoenas – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL as he presses to suspend the Rooney Rule, arguing it violates state anti-discrimination law. The league says the policy is not a hiring mandate and has evolved since its 2003 a
Agents pulled the Rooney Rule into the courtroom this week, as Florida’s attorney general escalated his fight with a new investigative subpoena to the NFL.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier advanced his threats on Wednesday by issuing an investigative subpoena. seeking enforcement action over the league’s Rooney Rule.. The move adds professional football to a growing list of MAGA targets for diversity. equity and inclusion efforts. at a moment when federal civil-rights enforcement has turned against some of the same hiring tools that grew popular after George Floyd’s 2020 murder.
The Rooney Rule was adopted in 2003 after an outcry over the lack of opportunities for Black coaches in a league dominated by Black talent.. In its current form. it requires NFL teams to interview at least two people of color or women for top jobs including head coach and general manager.. It also requires at least one person of color or a woman for quarterback coach and other senior roles.
Uthmeier has insisted the policy is illegal.. In March, he called on the NFL to suspend the rule altogether, arguing that it violates Florida’s anti-discrimination law.. In a video posted to X. he said. “Florida law is clear.” He added that “Hiring decisions cannot be based on race. ” and that the Rooney Rule “mandates race-based interviews and incentivizes race-based decisions.. That’s discrimination.”
The legal push comes as Trump-appointed civil-rights officials have signaled a more aggressive stance toward DEI-linked hiring practices.. In an interview with NPR earlier this year. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chair Andrea Lucas said employers can broaden recruitment. but warned that decisions can cross into unlawful territory when protected traits like race or sex play a role.. “All it has to do is motivate — in whole or in part — your decision-making. and you’re into unlawful territory. ” Lucas said.
The NFL pushes back
The NFL offered no immediate comment after the subpoena was issued. But days after Uthmeier first launched his battle, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended the policy publicly.
Goodell said at a press conference that the Rooney Rule is “not a hiring mandate. ” and argued it helps teams “find the best talent.” “The Rooney Rule’s been around a long time.. We’ve evolved it, We’ve changed it.. We’ll continue to do that as circumstances warrant. ” he said. noting that similar policies have been adopted across industries beyond football.
Under that argument. the rule functions as a process designed to widen which candidates are seen. rather than to dictate outcomes.. And that claim has been echoed by league legal officials.. In a May 1 letter to Florida’s attorney general. NFL Executive Vice President and General Counsel Ted Ullyot wrote. “For a limited subset of vacancies. the Rooney Rule expands the pool of applicants.” He continued that “Diversity of the candidate pool. both on the field and off. is… a critical part of the NFL’s success.”
A federal pattern aimed at “diverse slates”
Uthmeier’s challenge is landing in a broader federal enforcement environment that has raised new uncertainty around diverse slates.. Federal civil-rights laws generally prohibit employers from taking race, sex, or other protected characteristics into consideration when making employment decisions.. For years, creating a roster of diverse candidates as one preliminary step in hiring was widely viewed as compliant.
That view is being tested now. As political winds shifted, many companies backed away from DEI initiatives, and conservative groups pressed the EEOC to investigate.
In 2024, America First Legal, co-founded by Trump advisor Stephen Miller, asked the EEOC to investigate the Rooney Rule and other DEI-related practices. NPR asked what, if anything, has come of that request, but the agency did not respond.
Still, the EEOC has pursued other high-profile matters. The agency is investigating the New York Times and Nike over their DEI-related goals and practices, including diverse slates of candidates.
In a lawsuit against the New York Times. the EEOC alleges a white male employee met all requirements for a deputy editor job but was excluded from a final round of interviews because his race or sex didn’t match what the news organization was looking for.. In a statement shared with NPR. the Times called the allegations “politically motivated” and said it hired the most qualified candidate. adding. “she is an excellent editor.”
Nike’s dispute began in 2024, when Lucas, then as a commissioner, filed a charge of discrimination against the company.. Lucas alleged that since at least 2020. Nike engaged in “a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against White employees. ” including through its “diverse slates process.” In a recent court filing. Nike said under an agreement with the Labor Department. it was permitted to use diverse slates to address “substantial” disparities and to broaden the funnel of qualified candidates applying to open positions.
President Trump later rescinded the 1965 executive order that paved the way for such agreements. Nike says it no longer has any diverse slates practices or guidelines in effect.
Supporters say slates can reveal barriers
Not everyone agrees the Rooney Rule belongs in the same category as unlawful discrimination. Pamela Coukos, CEO of the consulting firm Working Ideal, said diverse candidate slates can help employers identify barriers that keep people out of leadership.
“Think about why a lot of these policies were put in place,” Coukos said. “Often because there was a history of unequal access — particularly to leadership positions.”
Coukos argued that if final interview rounds end up dominated by white male candidates. it may reflect narrower recruiting or unnecessary requirements in job postings.. “Or just because we assume that somebody who went to a particular school or had a particular prior job is. per se. going to be better than somebody else who has a different background. ” she said.
Cyrus Mehri, co-founder of Working Ideal and one of the architects of the Rooney Rule, previously told NPR’s Michel Martin in 2022 that the principle guiding the policy was fair competition. “You should be able to look at who’s the best by getting people in the process,” Mehri said.
What happens next
With the subpoena, Florida is asking the NFL to face its Rooney Rule under the state’s enforcement framework—an attempt to force a suspension that the league says it has already worked to refine.
For now, the rule remains in force.. But the legal pressure is no longer limited to one state or one industry.. Between Uthmeier’s subpoena and the EEOC’s broader scrutiny of diverse slates. the question for the NFL is less whether the Rooney Rule will be debated—and more whether its basic mechanism can survive a tightening definition of what counts as unlawful consideration in hiring.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier NFL Rooney Rule DEI backlash EEOC Andrea Lucas Roger Goodell diversity slates anti-discrimination law Title VII