Florida AG to NFL: End Rooney Rule by May 1
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- James Uthmeier sent a letter to commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday demanding the NFL confirm by May 1, 2026 that it will no longer enforce the Rooney Rule or any variation on Florida-based teams, or face a civil rights enforcement action.
- Uthmeier also sent the letter to the owners of the NFL's three Florida-based teams (per Politico), writing that 'NFL fans in Florida don't care what color their coach's skin is' and that the rule 'is illegal in Florida.'
- NFL executive VP Jeff Miller said the league is reviewing the letter's contents and that 'our policies are consistent with the law and reflect our commitment to fairness, opportunity, and building the strongest possible teams.'
- Art Rooney II, Steelers owner and chair of the NFL's diversity committee (his father Dan is the rule's namesake), told ESPN the league 'have[s] an obligation to make sure that our policies comply with the laws, whatever the law is.'
- The hiring backdrop: This offseason, Robert Saleh (of Lebanese descent) was the only minority candidate to land a top coaching job, and no Black head coaches were hired across the 10 openings, prompting Goodell to say ahead of the Super Bowl the NFL would take a closer look at the rule.
- Goodell had said the league would examine the Rooney Rule to 'continue to make progress' on diversity, a commitment that now collides with a hard state-level deadline.
Why it matters: Uthmeier's May 1, 2026 deadline is the first state-level legal threat against the Rooney Rule, and it lands after an offseason in which 10 head-coach openings produced zero Black hires. If the NFL yields in Florida but enforces the rule elsewhere, the league faces a fragmented compliance map across its 32 teams and emboldens copycat challenges from other states.
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