NFL cooperates – Roger Goodell says the NFL is cooperating with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier after a subpoena tied to the Rooney Rule and the league’s wider hiring practices, including the accelerator program. Uthmeier calls the Rooney Rule “blatant race and sex dis
Roger Goodell didn’t raise his voice in Orlando. He didn’t have to.
On Tuesday. during league meetings. the NFL commissioner said the league has been very clear about its programs and that it evaluates them continuously—not only to improve. but to ensure they align with the law. His comments came after the Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a subpoena to the NFL following Uthmeier’s scrutiny of the Rooney Rule and other employment practices.
Goodell said the NFL is engaging with Uthmeier’s office and will continue to share its work. “We think it’s certainly within the law,” he said, adding that cooperation with the Florida attorney general is also “something very positive.”
The dispute is centered on what the Rooney Rule requires and what Uthmeier argues is discrimination. The Rooney Rule. created to support hiring diversity in leadership roles. requires NFL teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for head coach. general manager and coordinator positions. At least one minority candidate must be interviewed for the quarterbacks coach position.
Uthmeier, who threatened possible enforcement actions in March if the Rooney Rule wasn’t suspended, later told Goodell in a letter that the Rooney Rule amounts to “blatant race and sex discrimination.”
The subpoena orders the NFL to appear at the attorney general’s office in Tallahassee on June 12. It also demands extensive documents. including “all diversity reports. coaching census data. or demographic surveys that reflect the race and sex of coaching staffs of the teams from 2017 to the present.”.
One of the programs being examined is the accelerator program. The NFL created it in 2022 as an extension of the Rooney Rule. designed to increase diversity among coaches and front office executives. Under that program. participants get an opportunity to connect with owners and team executives and attend informative sessions built to prepare them for future interviews.
The league held its revamped accelerator program on Monday and Tuesday in Orlando after pausing it last May. The updated version now includes nonminority participants, and nearly half of this year’s group were white men.
Goodell acknowledged the accelerator group in the room as the league’s effort to develop candidates for leadership opportunities. “There are a lot of candidates up there that are diverse. that are getting the opportunity to improve themselves and to get exposure. to get an opportunity. ” he said. “So. the people that are up there are the best of the best and they are a very diverse group. but they are the best of the best. And what we’re trying to do here is to make them even better and to give them opportunities.”.
He added that he heard from participants that they appreciated the opportunity and found the sessions helpful, saying, “That’s what I heard is that one, they appreciate the opportunity; two, it was helpful in that.”
The sequence is sharp: Uthmeier escalated pressure in March over the Rooney Rule. sent the NFL a subpoena on May 13. and set a June 12 appearance deadline—while Goodell. in turn. pointed to ongoing legal compliance reviews and offered a defense built around continued evaluation. documentation. and program exposure for candidates.
For the league. it’s a high-stakes moment where its public commitment to diversity programs is now meeting an inquiry focused on civil rights potential violations. For Uthmeier. the dispute is not about intent—it’s about whether those rules and programs cross a legal line. a concern he has already framed in stark terms with the phrase “blatant race and sex discrimination.”.
NFL Roger Goodell James Uthmeier Florida attorney general Rooney Rule civil rights subpoena Tallahassee accelerator program diversity coaching census data
Rooney Rule sounds like forced interviews to me.
So Goodell’s saying it’s “within the law” but the AG is saying it’s discrimination?? Isn’t that basically the same thing just different wording. Also why are they acting like this is new.
Wait I thought the Rooney Rule was like a fantasy thing lol. But if they gotta interview minority candidates… doesn’t that hurt the best coach getting the job. Like companies should just hire who’s qualified, not whatever quota. And Trump ally subpoenaed it?? sounds political more than football.
I don’t even get it, it says Florida AG wants documents from 2017 like “race and sex” of coaching staffs… That feels messy. But also the Rooney Rule is supposed to help diversity so idk why this is turning into a whole showdown. Maybe Goodell is just buying time before the June 12 thing.