ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) 鈥� NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is cooperating with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier after being issued a .
Uthmeier sent the subpoena to the NFL on May 13 as his office investigates whether the league has committed potential civil rights violations related to the and the league鈥檚 other employment practices, policies and programs.
鈥淚 think we have been very clear about our programs, and we obviously evaluate them all the time, not just for how they get better, but also to make sure that they鈥檙e consistent with the law,鈥� Goodell said Tuesday during league meetings in Orlando, Florida. “We鈥檙e engaging with the Florida attorney general and will continue to. We鈥檒l share everything we鈥檙e doing with them. We think it鈥檚 certainly within the law, but also something very positive.鈥�
Uthmeier threatened possible enforcement actions against the league in March if it didn鈥檛 suspend the 23-year-old Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for head coach, general manager and coordinator positions. At least one minority candidate must be interviewed for the quarterbacks coach position.
Uthmeier said in a letter to Goodell that the Rooney Rule amounts to 鈥渂latant race and sex discrimination.鈥�
The subpoena orders the league to appear at the attorney general鈥檚 office in Tallahassee, Florida, on June 12. It asks the league to produce extensive documents, including 鈥渁ll diversity reports, coaching census data, or demographic surveys that reflect the race and sex of coaching staffs of the teams from 2017 to the present.”
Among the programs being reviewed by Uthmeier’s office is the accelerator program, which the league created in 2022 as an extension of the Rooney Rule to increase diversity among coaches and front office executives.
The accelerator program gives participants an opportunity to connect with owners and team executives, and attend informative sessions designed to equip them for future interviews.
The NFL held its revamped accelerator program on Monday and Tuesday in Orlando after . It now includes nonminority participants and nearly half of this year鈥檚 group were white men.
鈥淭here are a lot of candidates up there that are diverse, that are getting the opportunity to improve themselves and to get exposure, to get an opportunity,鈥� Goodell said. 鈥淪o, the people that are up there are the best of the best and they are a very diverse group, but they are the best of the best. And what we鈥檙e trying to do here is to make them even better and to give them opportunities. And that鈥檚 what I heard is that one, they appreciate the opportunity; two, it was helpful in that.鈥�
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