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Florida AG Subpoenas NFL Over 23-Year Minority Hiring Rule

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Florida AG James Uthmeier Issues Subpoena to NFL Over Minority Interview Requirements

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL in June 2026, ordering league officials to appear in Tallahassee as part of his campaign to eliminate the Rooney Rule. The subpoena followed a March 2026 letter from Uthmeier threatening enforcement actions against the league for what he called “race-based discrimination.”

The Rooney Rule, in place since 2003, requires NFL teams to interview at least one non-white candidate for any coaching or front office position. For head coaching, general manager, and coordinator roles, teams must interview at least two non-white candidates from outside their organization. One non-white candidate must also be interviewed for quarterback coach positions.

The NFL revised language about the rule on its website after Uthmeier’s initial letter. Uthmeier then claimed those changes constituted an admission of guilt.

“We appreciate how quickly the NFL changed its website in response to our letter and capitulated on some of their discriminatory hiring quotas. But their response raises more questions about the Rooney Rule, and we look forward to their cooperation with the investigative subpoena we issued them today.”

James Uthmeier, Florida Attorney General, June 2026

Uthmeier’s position aligns directly with Governor Ron DeSantis’s anti-DEI agenda, which led to Florida banning diversity programs in public universities and state agencies in 2023. Uthmeier, 38, was appointed by DeSantis and has made targeting corporate DEI programs a signature issue.

Black Coaches Remain Underrepresented Despite the Rule’s Two-Decade History

The Rooney Rule has produced limited results in its 23 years. According to the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which tracks diversity in NFL hiring, only a small fraction of head coaches in the league are Black, despite Black players making up roughly 70 percent of the league’s rosters. Critics of the rule argue it needs strengthening, not elimination.

Uthmeier has pledged to continue fighting until the NFL repeals the Rooney Rule entirely and ends a related accelerator program designed to develop minority coaching candidates. His use of investigative subpoena power over a private organization’s voluntary hiring policy is drawing scrutiny from civil rights attorneys.

What You Can Do Now

  1. Call the Florida Attorney General’s office at (850) 414-3300 and tell them you oppose using state investigative subpoena power to dismantle voluntary diversity hiring programs in private industry. Ask staff to log your opposition to the NFL investigation by name.

  2. Contact your U.S. representative through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to defend the Rooney Rule publicly. Ask specifically that they issue a statement opposing state AGs using enforcement threats to eliminate private-sector diversity hiring programs.

  3. Email the NFL’s public affairs office at [email protected] and tell them to resist the subpoena and maintain the Rooney Rule in full. The NFL has 32 owners who collectively control the league’s policies, and public pressure on the league matters.

  4. Submit a public comment to the Florida Attorney General using the online contact form stating your opposition to the investigation. Reference the Rooney Rule by name and note that the rule was created to address documented discrimination in NFL hiring, not to impose illegal quotas.

Sources

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