"MLS's version of the Rooney Rule -- a name borrowed from the NFL's minority hiring initiative -- was first implemented in 2007, and was then updated with much fanfare in 2021. It's intention was to give more opportunities to minority candidates to interview for technical positions with the league's teams, including GMs, assistant GMs, managers and assistant coaches. That exposure, it was hoped, would lead to more minority hires."
"The 2021 revision was also intended to increase the policy's efficacy, and add a focus on the interviewing of Black candidates and strengthen the policy's enforcement mechanisms. It specifically mandated that the finalist pool for an open technical position -- defined as a coaching or front office position -- include two or more non-white candidates, one of whom must be Black/African American. Teams that didn't adhere to the policy could be fined."
Major League Soccer has removed minority interview requirements and many enforcement mechanisms for front office and coaching hires. The policy formerly called the MLS diversity hiring policy is now named MLS advance policy and gives clubs authority to set their own hiring guidelines with limited league oversight. Clubs must form a committee to manage interviews and designate a senior leader responsible for implementing the club's hiring policy. Measures introduced in 2007 and strengthened in 2021 — including requiring finalist pools to include two or more non-white candidates with one Black candidate and imposing fines for noncompliance — have been eliminated.
Read at ESPN.com
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