Florida attorney general subpoenas NFL over Rooney Rule and DEI hiring practices

“My office appreciates the NFL’s stated commitment to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination,” Uthmeier wrote in a new letter. “We also appreciate how quickly the NFL changed its website in response to our letter, as well as the NFL’s assertion that it no longer requires the consideration of race or sex in the hiring of at least one offensive assistant.”

“Unfortunately, neither your letter nor the changes to your website assuage our concerns over the NFL’s violations of Florida law,” he said. “In fact, they raise new ones.”

Uthmeier argues the Rooney Rule violates Florida law because it gives preference to one race over another, which he said is wrong, illegal, and unnecessary.

The subpoena orders the league to appear at the Florida attorney general’s office in Tallahassee on June 12 at 9 a.m., Fox News and OutKick reported.

The subpoena effectively pressures the state’s three professional football teams — Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — not to apply the league’s diversity hiring practices for top jobs.

The NFL has not made a public statement about the subpoena, but its leader did defend the Rooney Rule and similar policies after the attorney general’s initial letter.

“One thing that doesn’t change is our values, and we believe in diversity and its benefit to the National Football League,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We are well aware of the laws and where the laws are changing and evolving. We think the Rooney Rule is consistent with those, and we certainly will engage with the Florida AG or anybody else as we have in the past to talk about our policies.”