The escalation began when Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) issued a letter<\/a> to the NFL earlier this year, alleging that its Rooney Rule violates Florida\u2019s civil rights laws. The rule, in place since 2003, requires all NFL teams to \u201cinterview at least two external minority candidates for open head coach, coordinator and general manager jobs,\u201d said Politico<\/a>. Though his letter led the NFL to alter some of the diversity language on its website, Uthmeier claims the league didn\u2019t go far enough with its changes, resulting in him doubling down with the May 13 subpoenas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe appreciate how quickly the NFL changed its website in response to our letter and capitulated on some of their discriminatory hiring quotas,\u201d Uthmeier said on social media<\/a>. But the NFL\u2019s response \u201craises more questions about the Rooney Rule, and we look forward to their cooperation with the investigative subpoena.\u201d The subpoenas are Uthmeier\u2019s way of \u201ckeeping pressure on the NFL after he previously gave the league a May 1 deadline to scrap the Rooney Rule,\u201d said Politico.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n The Week<\/p>\n Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \nSUBSCRIBE & SAVE\n<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Sign up for The Week’s Free Newsletters<\/p>\n From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n Latest Videos From The NFL<\/a> showed no signs of capitulating. The league\u2019s diversity efforts are \u201cconsistent with both Florida and federal law,\u201d NFL General Counsel Ted Ullyot said in a responding letter<\/a>. The Rooney Rule \u201cdoesn\u2019t impose any hiring quotas or mandates nor does it even limit who may be interviewed,\u201d and \u201cdiversity of the candidate pool, both on the field and off, is also a critical part of the NFL\u2019s success.\u201d The league itself \u201cdoes not permit the consideration of race, sex or any other legally protected characteristic in any hiring decisions or employment actions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018An existential challenge\u2019<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s subpoenas are \u201cjust the latest target of MAGA backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts,\u201d said NPR<\/a>. While the effectiveness of the Rooney Rule has been \u201cpanned by many, including coaches, former coaches, the NFL Players Association and football fans,\u201d continued legal pushes could represent an \u201cexistential challenge\u201d to the NFL\u2019s hiring practices.<\/p>\n Legal challenges could also expand to other areas of the NFL beyond the Rooney Rule. Uthmeier\u2019s subpoena targets \u201cmany of the NFL\u2019s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including a now-discontinued mandate that required teams hire a minority offensive assistant,\u201d as well as the \u201cleague\u2019s diversity accelerator program\u201d and a rule related to compensatory draft picks if a \u201cminority assistant coach or executive a team developed is hired away,\u201d said ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n Uthmeier\u2019s threats \u201cecho a broader campaign waged by the Trump administration,\u201d said NPR. They come as the White House<\/a> and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have \u201cnow made tackling discrimination against white people, especially men, a priority.\u201d While there could be implications for the NFL, the effect of the legal challenges could also be seen beyond sports<\/a>. The head of the EEOC has repeatedly \u201cwarned employers that even in the interview selection process, they should not take into consideration a candidate\u2019s race, sex or any other protected characteristic\u201d of the Civil Rights Act.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/qsgislpohy1687441729.svg\")
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