As the NFL contests Brian Flores’ allegations of race-based employment discrimination against Black coaches and general managers, and Black candidates for those roles, the league is now under attack by Florida attorney general James Uthmeier for employment policies that he believes might put “non-diverse” candidates at a disadvantage.
Uthmeier last week subpoenaed the league to turn over employment-related records by June 12 in what could be a precursor to litigation centered on the Rooney Rule and other NFL employment practices intended to address longstanding racial and sex inequities.
The NFL, in other words, could become a defendant in two simultaneous litigations—one centered on alleged discrimination against Black people and the other on alleged discrimination against white people.
To understand this unusual situation, it’s important to recognize what the Rooney Rule does and doesn’t do.
In a 2023 ruling in Flores v. NFL, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni explained the Rooney Rule’s origins and purposes.
