NFL Defends Rooney Rule at Annual Meeting

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell firmly defended the league's Rooney Rule during the annual league meeting in Phoenix this week, rejecting demands from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to suspend the policy aimed at promoting diverse hiring for coaching and executive positions. The rule, implemented in 2003, requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate—and, since expansions in 2021 and 2022, at least two external minority candidates and consideration for women—for open roles. Uthmeier, in a letter sent ahead of the meeting, argued that the practice violates Florida law by mandating race-based considerations, calling it discrimination and threatening enforcement action if the NFL does not comply.

Goodell emphasized that the Rooney Rule does not force hires based on race but ensures consideration of diverse candidates, which he said has benefited the league by expanding opportunities. "One thing that doesn't change is our values, and we believe that diversity has been a benefit to the National Football League," Goodell stated. He noted the league's awareness of evolving laws and asserted the policy's consistency with them. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney...