Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened enforcement actions against the NFL if the league does not suspend the Rooney Rule for its three Florida franchises by May 1. Uthmeier sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell challenging the diversity hiring policy that has been in place since 2003. The rule affects the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

“The NFL’s use of the Rooney Rule violates Florida law by requiring race-based considerations in hiring,” Uthmeier said in a video posted on social media Wednesday. “Florida law is clear: Hiring decisions cannot be based on race. And the Rooney Rule mandates race-based interviews and incentivizes race-based decisions. That’s discrimination.” The former chief of staff for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis demanded the league confirm no later than May 1 that it would no longer enforce the rule for Florida teams.

NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller responded Friday with a statement defending the league’s position. “We are reviewing the letter. We believe our policies are consistent with the law and reflect our commitment to fairness, opportunity, and building the strongest possible teams,” Miller said. The NFL describes the Rooney Rule as promoting “diverse leadership among NFL clubs to ensure that promising candidates have the opportunity to prove they have the necessary skills and qualifications to excel.”

The Rooney Rule requires clubs to conduct in-person interviews with at least two external diverse candidates for general manager or head-coaching openings. Teams must interview at least two minorities and women for all coordinator positions and at least one diverse candidate for quarterback coach or senior-level executive positions. The rule was named for Dan Rooney, the late Pittsburgh Steelers owner who chaired the NFL’s Workplace Diversity Committee.

“We’re demanding the NFL suspend the Rooney Rule, and failure to do so may result in enforcement actions against the league for race-based discrimination,” Uthmeier said. The attorney general’s challenge comes as the NFL faces criticism over coaching diversity, with no Black coaches hired for any of the league’s 10 head coaching vacancies in the most recent offseason. Robert Saleh, who is of Lebanese descent, was the lone minority head-coaching hire as Tennessee Titans head coach.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said at this year’s Super Bowl that he remains committed to the Rooney Rule despite ongoing challenges. “I believe in diversity,” Goodell said. “I think we have become more diverse across every platform, including coaching. But we have some more work to do. There’s got to be more steps.” About 70 percent of the league’s players and three head coaches are Black.

Art Rooney II, current Steelers owner and son of the rule’s namesake, acknowledged the changing legal environment Friday. “There’s no question that the environment has changed in recent years,” Rooney told ESPN. The Steelers owner said the NFL has “an obligation to make sure that our policies comply with the laws, whatever the law is, and whatever the changes in law might be. We’ve got to look at that and make sure we’re in compliance.”

Michele Meyer-Shipp, director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, defended the rule’s purpose in expanding opportunities. “The Rooney Rule doesn’t limit opportunity; it expands it,” Meyer-Shipp said in a statement. “It doesn’t cap who a club can consider or dictate who gets hired and it’s not a hiring rule. What it does is increase fair competition and ensure a true merit-based process by opening the door beyond the traditional ’tap on the shoulder’ system, so the best candidates from all backgrounds are actually seen, evaluated, and can compete.”

The Steelers hired Mike Tomlin as head coach in January 2007, with Art Rooney II saying at the time that Tomlin “probably was a long shot” without the Rooney Rule. Tomlin coached the Steelers for 19 years, won the Super Bowl in the 2008 season and never had a sub-.500 record. The NFL’s annual meeting is scheduled for next week, where league officials are expected to address Uthmeier’s challenge to the diversity policy.