During his recent state of the league address, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell emphasized the league's ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, particularly in light of president Trump's executive order. Goodell reaffirmed the importance of the Rooney Rule, which mandates the interviewing of minority or female candidates for key positions. He stated that diversity is not merely a trend but essential for attracting top talent to the NFL. Despite scrutiny surrounding hiring practices, he clarified that there are no hiring quotas, reinforcing that the aim is to widen the candidate pool to meet community representation.
We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League, and we're going to continue those efforts because we've not only convinced ourselves, I think we've proven to ourselves that it does make the NFL better.
There's no requirement to hire a particular individual on the basis of race or gender, it's simply on the basis of looking at a canvas of candidates that reflect our communities.
There are no quotas in our system. This is about opening that funnel and bringing the best talent into the NFL.
In 2021, the rule was updated to require clubs to interview two external minority candidates in person, for head coach and general manager jobs.
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