Last month, former NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith explained in a visit to PFT Live at the Super Bowl that accountability when it comes to the league’s hiring practices could come from the attorneys general of one or more states in which the NFL does business.
That has happened, but not in the way that Smith would have envisioned.
In a video posted Wednesday on Twitter, Florida attorney general James Uthmeier demanded that the NFL suspend the Rooney Rule.
“Next week, the NFL’s annual league meeting begins in Phoenix, Arizona,” Uthmeier said. “And the NFL draft is only a month away. Ahead of the annual meeting, my office is sending a letter to the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell regarding the league’s hiring practices. Specifically, the use of the so-called Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview candidates based on race.
“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. That’s discrimination. We’re demanding the NFL suspend the Rooney Rule, and failure to do so may result in enforcement actions against the league for race-based discrimination. NFL teams and their fans don’t care about the race of the coaching staff. They want a merit-based system that gives their team the best chance to win.”
The move comes at a time when the NFL has been tiptoeing around the federal government’s assault against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Recently, the league expanded its Accelerator program to include non-minority candidates, arguing that it was not influenced by the current political climate.
The easy reaction to DEI efforts is to argue that all decisions should be based on merit. The NFL’s traditional hiring practices suggest otherwise; NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent’s admissions regarding the existence of a “double standard” were featured in the pending lawsuit filed by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores against the Dolphins, the league, and multiple teams.
It remains to be seen whether Uthmeier follows through with his threat, if the NFL doesn’t suspend the Rooney Rule. Coincidentally, or not, Florida took no action after Flores claimed that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay Flores $100,000 for each game Flores lost in 2019.
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