NFL Commissioner Goodell Addresses Florida Subpoena on Rooney Rule

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday the league is cooperating with a Florida subpoena that demands records on the Rooney Rule and other diversity programs.

Goodell spoke with reporters at the league's spring meeting after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued the subpoena last week. The order requires the NFL to deliver documents related to the Rooney Rule and DEI programs to the Florida Department of Legal Affairs in Tallahassee by 9 a.m. on June 12.

Goodell said the league evaluates its programs to ensure they follow the law. He said the NFL will share all requested information with the attorney general.

Uthmeier wrote in a letter to NFL general counsel Ted Ullyot that the Rooney Rule and the league's inclusive hiring policies raise concerns under Florida law.

Goodell also discussed the Accelerator Program, which gives potential coaches and front-office executives a chance to meet club owners. The program previously excluded white men. This year it included 17 white men among 34 participants, along with one white woman, 14 Black men and two biracial men.

Goodell described the group as the best of the best and said the program aims to improve candidates and give them opportunities regardless of race.