Just before the 2026 Super Bowl, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell vowed to revisit and strengthen the league\u2019s diversity efforts following efforts by the Trump administration to curb diversity, equity, and inclusion in employment practices.<\/p>\n
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has other ideas, having sent<\/a> Goodell a letter last week alleging that the NFL\u2019s Rooney Rule and other diversity programs violate the Florida Civil Rights Act.<\/p>\n But Uthmeier is out of his league, and the NFL should let him know it.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s First Down<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s Civil Rights Act<\/a>, like that of almost all states, says employers can\u2019t \u201cfail or refuse to hire any individual\u201d or \u201climit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n It also prohibits \u201cdiscriminat[ing] against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual\u2019s race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.\u201d<\/p>\n The NFL\u2019s primary Rooney Rule doesn\u2019t require teams to hire racial minorities, nor does it say that a hiring decision should include a protected characteristic as a criteria for consideration\u2014a practice the US Supreme Court invalidated<\/a> for college admissions in 2023.<\/p>\n Instead, it aims to increase the candidate pool to people who might not otherwise be included. The league\u2019s approach is consistent with the Mansfield Rule<\/a>, a concept that requires three out of 10 candidates for a position be from underrepresented groups.<\/p>\n The NFL does have one policy<\/a>, however, that looks like a quota\u2014it requires \u201cthat all teams must employ a female or minority coach as an offensive assistant.\u201d<\/p>\n A Legal Football<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s position isn\u2019t new. America First Legal, an organization directed by former staffers of the first Trump administration, in 2024 wrote a letter<\/a> to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission arguing that the Rooney Rule discriminated against white males.<\/p>\n Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has taken the opposite position. For more than four years, he has been leading a putative class action lawsuit against the NFL and various clubs alleging that their hiring practices unlawfully discriminate against Black coaches.<\/p>\n Flores recently prevailed<\/a> in a lengthy effort to have his claims heard in federal court rather than in arbitration.<\/p>\n NFL\u2019s Diversity History<\/p>\n The NFL\u2019s Rooney Rule, an effort to add racial and gender diversity to teams\u2019 coaching and leadership ranks, has had mixed success since its 2003 enactment. <\/p>\n At its peak, entering the 2024 season, nine head coaches were people of color. However, of the 10 vacancies filled during or after the 2025 season, none were by Black coaches, and only one was a racial minority.<\/p>\n By several estimates, two-thirds of NFL players are Black, a number that hasn\u2019t materially changed for decades. However, the coaching ranks have never reflected the demographics of the player population.<\/p>\n The NFL instituted the Rooney Rule to address this disparity. It now requires clubs to interview two minority candidates for the positions of head coach, general manager and coordinator positions and one minority candidate for quarterback coach and senior executive positions.<\/p>\n NFL Has Possession<\/p>\n Utheimer requested that the NFL \u201cconfirm 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.\u201d He then threatened that failure to confirm this may prompt a civil rights enforcement action.<\/p>\n Jeremi Duru, a leading academic on the Rooney Rule who is on the board of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a nonprofit organization that champions diversity and inclusion in NFL leadership positions, said<\/a> in a 2025 law review article that no such claim is viable under Title VII, the analogous federal law prohibiting discrimination in employment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Rule does not bear on any employer\u2019s decision to \u2018hire,\u2019 or \u2018discharge,\u2019 and does not bear on \u2018compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment,\u2019\u201d he noted. And while the Rooney Rule stipulates \u201cat least two people of color be interviewed for particular positions,\u201d he added, \u201cit does not deprive any individual of the opportunity to interview.\u201d <\/p>\n Florida\u2019s claims may have some legal merit, but that is beside the point. The NFL is a national, bipartisan cultural juggernaut whose annual revenue is on track to exceed $25 billion by next year and can easily absorb whatever civil penalties Florida might throw its way.<\/p>\n The NFL may thank Florida for taking its current position. Last year, Goodell said the NFL wouldn\u2019t abandon the Rooney Rule even after President Donald Trump issued executive orders intended to curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. <\/p>\n The league now can put that position to the test and send a strong and durable message about its commitment to diversity. A failure to do so would likely prompt at least some backlash from players, fans, and sponsors. <\/p>\n If Florida obtains an injunction against the Rooney Rule in the state (which is highly uncertain), the NFL can be proud to have put up a principled fight. <\/p>\n Such an injunction may even help the NFL in the Flores case\u2014as some of the relief sought in the case could be in conflict. Specifically, Flores has requested as relief in his action that the NFL be forced to implement a variety of processes and programs to diversify the coaching, personnel, and ownership ranks in the NFL.<\/p>\n The NFL\u2019s approach to law and business has been assertive, to put it mildly, for much of the past six decades. There\u2019s no reason for it to stop now.<\/p>\n This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, and Bloomberg Government, or its owners.<\/p>\n Author Information<\/p>\n