NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday stressed a conciliatory tone toward Florida amid a battle with the state over the league’s diversity rule.
The NFL has for months been under Attorney General James Uthmeier’s scrutiny due to concerns the decades-old “Rooney Rule” and other league programs violate state and federal civil rights laws barring racial and sex discrimination. Goodell continued to stand by the rule this week but pledged to cooperate with officials as they investigate the matter. His stance comes after Uthmeier subpoenaed the NFL last week over the case, ordering the league to appear at the attorney general’s office June 12.
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“I think we have been very clear about our programs, and we obviously evaluate them all the time, not just for how they get better but also to make sure that they’re consistent with the law,” Goodell said.
“We’re engaging with the Florida attorney general and will continue to,” the NFL commissioner continued. “We’ll share everything we’re doing with them. We think it’s certainly within the law, but also something very positive.”
The Rooney Rule, established in 2003, is a hiring policy aimed at increasing representation in key roles in NFL organizations. Among other mandates, it requires teams to interview at least two external minority or female candidates for open head coach and general manager positions.
Goodell also noted that the league’s Accelerator Program — an initiative that began in 2022 and is designed to develop select coaches and front office representatives for future head coach and general manager positions — promotes “the best of the best” amid Uthmeier’s move to review the program for possible discrimination.
Goodell emphasized the merit-based initiative after the NFL revamped the program this week, allowing it to now include nonminority participants. The program had previously excluded white men, instead focusing on black people, women, and other minority groups.
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Uthmeier has argued that the league should focus on hiring and training recruits “based on merit,” not sex or race.
“NFL fans in Florida don’t care what color their coach’s skin is,” he said in a letter to Goodell. “They care what colors their coach is wearing — and that those colors are winning on the football field.”
