NFL’s Rooney Rule Meets Legal Challenge in Trump’s DEI Crackdown

April 23, 2026, 11:00 AM UTC

The most-recognizable diversity policy in sports is facing the biggest challenge in its history.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, is calling for the end of the National Football League’s Rooney Rule, a provision that requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates for head coaching jobs. He says the rule “brazenly violates Florida law” and he wants the league to drop enforcement of it by May 1.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, right, is calling to end the NFL’s Rooney Rule.
Photographer: Carl Juste/Miami Herald/Getty Images

Pressure also is building in Washington, where at least two federal agencies have advanced legal arguments over the past four months ...

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