Florida AG Subpoenas NFL in Rooney Rule Probe

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an investigative subpoena to the National Football League on Wednesday, escalating his probe into whether the league's Rooney Rule violates state civil rights law by mandating race- and sex-based considerations in hiring.

The subpoena, sent to NFL Executive Vice President and General Counsel Ted Ullyot along with an accompanying letter, requires the league to appear before the Office of Civil Rights in Tallahassee on June 12 at 9 a.m. It demands extensive records dating back to 2020, including internal policies, communications with government agencies, hiring data by race and sex, compliance tracking, enforcement actions, and details on programs such as the Rooney Rule, Offensive Assistant Mandate, Resolution JC-2A, Accelerator Program, and Mackie Development Program. The documents sought also cover how the NFL defines and verifies "minority" status, along with evidence of the programs' intent and justifications.

Uthmeier first contacted the NFL in a March 25 letter, warning that the Rooney Rule "brazenly violates Florida law" under the state's Civil Rights Act by requiring teams to limit, segregate, or classify applicants based on...