Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier accused the NFL on Wednesday of violating state and federal civil rights laws through the league’s diversity rule.
The “Rooney Rule” sets an interview quota for coaches from minority groups, requiring every team to interview at least two external candidates for head coach, coordinator, and general manager jobs. Uthmeier sent NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a letter demanding the policy be suspended, warning that failure to do so “may result in enforcement actions against the league for race-based discrimination.” Uthmeier requested a response to his letter by May 1.
“Stop discriminating based on race. Stop discriminating based on sex,” Uthmeier wrote. “Interview, hire, and train based on merit.
“NFL fans in Florida don’t care what color their coach’s skin is,” he added. “They care what colors their coach is wearing – and that those colors are winning on the football field.”
The development comes as part of a broader crackdown by red states on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which have been deemed by the White House to be illegal.
The decades-old Rooney Rule includes women in the definition of minority group candidates. Under the diversity initiative, teams must also interview one minority group candidate for the quarterback coach position, as well as one for senior-level positions, such as club president and senior executives.
The policy additionally rewards teams that develop staff from minority groups. If a team loses an executive or coach from one of the groups to another team, they would receive a third-round compensatory pick for two years. In the event that they lose both a coach and a personnel member, that compensatory pick would be extended for a third year, according to NBC New York.
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Uthmeier said the Rooney Rule amounted to “illegal” and “blatant race and sex discrimination,” in violation of the Florida Civil Rights Act and federal anti-discrimination law.
“The NFL draft is only a month away,” he said. “The NFL’s use of the Rooney Rule violates Florida law by requiring race-based considerations in hiring. Florida law is clear. Hiring decisions cannot be based on race, and the Rooney Rule mandates race-based interviews and incentivizes race-based decisions. That’s discrimination.”
