The rule requires NFL<\/a> organizations to interview at least two minority candidates for major positions before pulling the trigger on a hire.<\/p>\n Uthmeier called the Rooney Rule “illegal” and “blatant race and sex discrimination.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during his state of the NFL news conference on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in San Jose, California, ahead of the Super Bowl 60 football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. (AP Photo\/Matt York)<\/p>\n “As applied in Florida, the NFL\u2019s \u2018Rooney Rule,\u2019 which governs the hiring of certain team executives and coaches, brazenly violates Florida law. So, too, do the NFL\u2019s related \u2018diversity\u2019 initiatives,” Uthmeier wrote in the letter<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The Florida Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from \u2018fail[ing] or refus[ing] to hire any individual\u2019; \u2018limit[ing], segregate[ing], or classify[ing] employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities\u2019; and \u2018discriminat[ing] against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment,\u2019 because of the \u2018individual\u2019s race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status,\u2019 the letter continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The Act also prohibits employers from discriminating based on those same characteristics \u2018in admission to \u2026 any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training.\u2019 The Rooney Rule and its offshoots require precisely what Florida law forbids. They require teams to limit, segregate, and classify applicants for certain employment and training opportunities because of race and sex. And they do so in a way that tends to deprive applicants of opportunities for employment\u2026<\/p>\n Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks at a campaign rally for Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears at the Buckland Farm Market on Oct. 29, 2025, in New Baltimore, Virginia. (Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n SAINTS SIGN FORMER NO 2 OVERALL PICK ZACH WILSON AS BACKUP QUARTERBACK: REPORTS<\/a><\/p>\n “The NFL\u2019s own Executive Vice President of NFL Operations (Troy Vincent Sr.) has acknowledged that the NFL should create \u2018a workplace culture that doesn\u2019t require mandates to interview people of color and minorities.\u2019 If that is so, then stop discriminating based on race. Stop discriminating based on sex. Interview, hire, and train based on merit. If merit-based employment should exist anywhere (and it should exist everywhere), it is in the NFL. NFL fans in Florida don\u2019t care what color their coach\u2019s skin is. They care what colors their coach is wearing\u2014and that those colors are winning on the football field.”<\/p>\n Uthmeier then asked Goodell to “please confirm no later than May 1, 2026, that the NFL will no longer enforce the Rooney Rule or any variation or extension thereof\u2014which requires consideration of race, sex, or any other prohibited classification\u2014on teams in Florida. Failure to provide such confirmation may result in a civil rights enforcement action.”<\/p>\n The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The Rooney Rule was put into effect in 2003. As of publication, three NFL head coaches are Black, and none were hired throughout this offseason, although several were hired for coordinator positions.<\/p>\n NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the media at the NFL Annual League Meeting at The Breakers on April 1, 2025. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Brian Flores, Steve Wilks and Ray Horton<\/a> have a discrimination case against the NFL, with Flores saying the league was “rife with racism” as it pertains to its hiring practices for coaches.<\/p>\n Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.<\/p>\n Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s\u00a0sports coverage on X<\/a>,\u00a0and subscribe to\u00a0the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n ![\"Roger](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nfl-roger-goodell-020226-1.jpg\")
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