Florida AG Uthmeier subpoenas NFL over diversity, inclusion initiatives [View all]

“The Rooney Rule and its offshoots are illegal in Florida,” James Uthmeier told the league in March.

James Uthmeier, Florida’s attorney general, has intensified his scrutiny of the National Football League’s diversity and inclusion policies by issuing a subpoena.

This escalation comes after Uthmeier penned a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in March asking the league to stop enforcing the “Rooney Rule,” which requires teams to interview minority candidates for open coaching and front office roles, in Florida.

In a letter Wednesday to Ted Ullyot, the league’s executive vice president and general counsel, Uthmeier thanked the NFL for saying that it no longer requires the consideration of race or sex in the hiring of at least one offensive assistant coach, and for updating its website in response to his initial letter.

But, Uthmeier wrote, it wasn’t enough to quell his concerns.

“All in all, the Rooney Rule and the NFL’s related ‘inclusive hiring’ policies — and the NFL’s representation about those policies — continue to raise significant concerns under Florida law,” he wrote.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2026/05/13/james-uthmeier-florida-subpoena-nfl-rooney-rule-dei-diversity-equity-inclusion/