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The Rooney Rule and Diversity in the NFL Workplace

By Martin J. Greenberg and Courtney BrenkThe Rooney Rule Diversity in the NFL Workplace | Martin J Greenberg | Sports Law

I. Introduction

Does having a rule wherein National Football League (NFL) teams are required to interview a head coach who is a minority really help expand and diversify the NFL? The short answer is yes. According to the NFL, the Rooney Rule is helping to diversify not only head coaching positions, but also front office positions.[1] But is the Rooney Rule really working like the creators of the Rooney Rule hoped it would? Or is the Rooney Rule just on the books to make it appear that the NFL is taking the steps necessary to diversify? This article explores what the Rooney Rule is, how the Rule evolved, criticisms of the Rule, and if there are any improvements that can be made to the Rooney Rule.

Rooney Rule Minnesota Vikings | Sports Law | Martin J GreenbergThe NFL has had a long history of lack of diversity. By the end of the 2001 football season, the statistics gleamed from staffing showed that while approximately 67% of NFL players were African American, only about 6% (2 out of 32) of the head coaches were African American.[2] In 2002, two minority coaches, Dennis Green (Green), coach of the Minnesota Vikings (Vikings), and Tony Dungy (Dungy), coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Buccaneers) were fired and replaced after their teams interviewed only one candidate each (a white coach).[3]

Johnnie Cochran and Cyrus Mehri | Sports Law | Martin J GreenbergThe issue came to a head in September of 2002 when attorneys Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. (Cochran) and Cyrus Mehri (Mehri) worked together with labor economist Dr. Janice Madden (Madden) to publish an opus entitled Black Coaches in the National Football League: Superior Performance, Inferior Opportunities.[4] Cochran released the report that “criticized the NFL’s hiring practice involving black head coaches and threatened to sue the League.”[5] On October 31, 2002, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (Tagliabue) appointed a Committee on Workplace Development. The Committee included Pittsburgh Steelers (Steelers) owner Dan Rooney (Chairman), Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Falcons (Falcons), Pat Bowlen of the Denver Broncos (Broncos), Stan Kroenke of the St. Louis Rams (Rams), and Jeff Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles (Eagles).[6] Additionally, the Committee had support in the form of a working group comprised of the Falcon’s Ray Anderson, the New York Jets’ (Jets) Terry Bradway, the Buccaneer’s Rich McKay, Baltimore Ravens’ (Ravens) Ozzie Newsome, and Indianapolis Colts’ (Colts) Bill Polian.[7]

Dan Rooney, Chairman of the NFL’s Diversity Committee, was the Steelers owner who died on April 13, 2013 at the age of eighty-four.[8] Rooney took over the operation of the Steelers in the 1960s, from his father Art Rooney, who was the founder of the franchise.[9] The Steelers have always had a long history of having a diverse coaching staff. Rooney became a valuable ally to help diversify the NFL.

‘We knew that Mr. Rooney would be a mighty ally, and he was.’ Fritz Pollard Alliance chairman John Wooten and executive director Harry Carson, said in an email. ‘As [C]hairman of the [L]eague’s workplace Diversity Committee, he worked tirelessly to ensure that the [L]eague’s other owners acknowledged the diversity and inclusion challenges that the [L]eague faced, and that they committed to increasing and broadening opportunity.[10]

On December 20, 2002, the NFL Committee on Workplace Diversity submitted its recommendations. In a memorandum to NFL team owners, the Committee stated:

Our initial focus has been on the head coaching position. We have had numerous meetings and held discussions with a wide range of people, including club owners and executives, current and former players and coaches, and knowledgeable people outside the NFL. Overall our goal has been to assist clubs in approaching the hiring process in ways that will lead to better decisions and enhance opportunities for well-qualified coaches.[11]

The Rooney Rule is simple. It “requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for any head coaching vacancy,”[12] “‘When we created the Rooney Rule in 2002-03, what we were trying to do was give guys who otherwise got overlooked to get a fighting chance,’ explained Mehri, who co-wrote the Rooney Rule and has been a strong advocate of minority hiring in pro football.”[13]

Herman Edwards | The Rooney Rule | Sports Law  Marvin Lewis | The Rooney Rule | Sports Law

The effect of the Rooney Rule was fairly immediate. The number of minority coaches jumped from two in 2002 to six in 2004.[14] Herman Edwards, Jets and Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals (Bengals), were the only two minority coaches in the NFL in 2003, when the Rooney Rule was put into practice.[15]

Interestingly enough, the Rooney Rule was not formally adopted in the NFL’s By-Laws, and the only place the Rule appears is in the NFL’s December 20, 2002 press release.[16]

II. Rooney Rule has Teeth

To show how serious the NFL was about their new Rooney Rule, the NFL, in 2003, reprimanded and fined the Detroit Lions (Lions) $200,000 for failing “to take sufficient steps to satisfy its commitment to the Rooney Rule”.[17] “Tagliabue, NFL Commissioner at the time, sent an unmistakable message by declaring that the next violator will face a $500,000 fine.”[18] In a statement to the teams, Tagliabue said “[c]onduct inconsistent with procedural or substantive initiatives relating to equal employment opportunity may be treated as conduct detrimental.”[19]

Tagliabue | The Rooney Rule NFL | Sports LawWith the guidelines in place, [L]eague executives have a detailed road map for its hiring practices, which, the memo states, should include a search process with ”a deep and diverse — by many different criteria — pool of head coaching candidates.[20]

Since the NFL never formally identified the range of potential sanctions when/if a team violates the Rooney Rule, it is not clear whether the Commissioner can or would levy non-monetary sanctions (e.g. the loss of draft picks) in addition to monetary sanctions for further Rooney Rule violations.[21]

The Lions are the only team to have allegedly violated the Rooney Rule since the Rule was enacted.[22]

There have been instances where other teams have been investigated for not complying with the Rooney Rule; however, these teams were never penalized. For example, the Washington Redskins (Redskins), the Miami Dolphins (Dolphins), the Carolina Panthers (Panthers), the Seattle Seahawks (Seahawks), and the Eagles are just a few of the teams that have been investigated for potential violations of the Rooney Rule. The Panthers almost got sanctioned for violating the Rooney Rule for hiring Marty Hurney as the general manager; however, the Panthers did not get sanctioned because Hurney was only given the job on an interim basis.[23] The Eagles were also investigated because they only interviewed one minority candidate, Duce Staley, who is still the running backs coach for the Eagles, for the open head coach position and did not formally interview any other minority candidate.[24]

A little over a week before the Eagles would eventually land Doug Pederson [as head coach], Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole said that the NFL was concerned that the franchise had ‘manipulated’ the Rooney Rule by interviewing Staley, an in-house candidate who had just three years experience as a position coach.[25]

Fritz Pollard Foundation | The Rooney Rule | Sports Law

The Fritz Pollard Alliance (FPA) investigated the situation and conducted its own due diligence with the Eagles head coach search, and found that the Eagles did not violate the Rule.[26] The Redskins were also investigated by the NFL for not complying with the Rule. “The diversity group (Fritz Pollard Alliance) that works with the NFL on minority hiring issues sent a complaint to the [L]eague . . . about the manner in which the Redskins conducted their general manager search.”[27] The Chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, John Wooten, stated that the Redskins did not notify the League before they interviewed Jets executive Rod Graves as required.[28] The NFL looked into the matter and ultimately determined that the Redskins did not violate the Rooney Rule.[29]

A written statement issued by the [L]eague said: ‘Our office confirmed that the Redskins obtained verbal permission from the Jets in advance of interviewing Rod Graves for the general manager position and, therefore, we find no violation of the anti-tampering policy. We informed the Fritz Pollard Alliance that we will remind Washington and all of our teams of the expectation that our office will be notified in writing whenever permission to interview an employee of another club is sought.’[30]

 

In December of 2017 the Cleveland Browns (Browns) came under fire with the “quick hiring of John Dorsey (Dorsey) as general manager.”[31] “Dorsey’s deal with the Browns was finalized [. . .], hours after the team fired Sashi Brown as executive vice president for football operations. That led many to speculate that the Browns had circumvented the [Rooney] [R]ule.”[32] Among those concerned was John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, who stated: “I’m deeply bothered by it. I’ll be talking to the [L]eague about it because it bothers me. It doesn’t seem right. Why wouldn’t you interview one of the recommended people?”[33] However, it was reported the next day that the Browns had interviewed minority candidate Doug Whaley, who was the Buffalo Bills’ (Bills) former general manager, and that the NFL had determined that the Browns did not violate the Rooney Rule.[34]

 

In January of 2018 it was announced that the Oakland Raiders (Raiders) were being investigated by the NFL for potentially violating the Rooney Rule.[35] On January 9, 2018 the Raiders announced that Jon Gruden (Gruden) would once again be the head coach for the Raiders.[36] It was also announced by Gruden that his team would include Greg Olson (offensive coordinator), Paul Guenther (defensive coordinator) and Rich Bisaccia (special teams coordinator).[37] However, given the hype regarding the hiring and Owner Mark Davis (Davis) calling the hiring of Gruden “a big effing [sic] deal,”[38] a request was made by the Fritz Pollard Alliance for “the NFL to ‘thoroughly investigate’ the Raiders hiring process after hearing Davis’ statements.”[39] Also troubling is that it was reported that Davis met with Gruden in the week preceding the release of Jack Del Rio (Del Rio) from his contract.[40] Raiders insist that they have complied with the Rooney Rule,[41] stating that they interviewed Bobby Johnson (Raiders tight ends coach) and Tee Martin (USC offensive coordinator).[42] The timeline suggest that there was a deal in place with Gruden when Del Rio was fired on December 31, 2107.[43] The NFL will be investigating based upon statements made by Davis that he met with Gruden on December 24, 2017, and stated he was “pretty confident that he [Gruden] was all-in.” after said meeting.[44] “Logic suggest that Gruden was committed before Del Rio was terminated, which means that when the Rooney Rule interviews happened there was, as a practical matter, no job to interview for.”[45] However, it’s pretty clear the Raiders “didn’t really care about the spirit of the rule — the Raiders were hiring Gruden and there was nothing stopping that.”[46]

The Raiders have traditionally been at the forefront of diversity and social initiatives in the NFL — having black and white teammates room together in camp and on the road in the 1960s; nearly canceling a Raiders exhibition in Las Vegas against the Houston Oilers in 1964 because of a segregated hotel; drafting a black quarterback in the first round in Eldridge Dickey in 1968; Tom Flores being the first minority coach and Jim Plunkett the first minority quarterback to win a Super Bowl in 1981 before doing it again three years later; Art Shell being the first black coach in the NFL’s modern era in 1989; Amy Trask being the first female CEO of an NFL franchise in 1997; McKenzie being hired in 2012; and Del Rio coming in 2015

‘The Raiders have always stood for diversity and rights,’ Mark Davis told ESPN in 2016, when he had civil rights icon Tommie Smith light the Al Davis Torch before Oakland’s game against the Houston Texans in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca.

‘My youth, being able to be around the Raiders and football, I never saw color. Every year there were new players [on the roster], players from the South, some from the Deep South, others from the North — all over the country. I got to see and hear all different viewpoints on life, all coming together for a common cause, a goal to win games. … This is how I grew up, seeing this.’[47]

On January 19, 2018 it was reported that the NFL concluded the Raiders “did not violate the Rooney Rule in the hiring of Jon Gruden as head coach after an investigation of the process.”[48] A statement released by the Fritz Pollard Alliance stated:

We believe the facts overwhelmingly point in the other direction. In his enthusiasm to hire Jon Gruden, Raiders’ owner Mark Davis failed to fulfill his obligation under the Rule and should step forward and acknowledge he violated the Rule. [. . .]

The NFL broke ground when it created the Rooney Rule, but it made the wrong call in refusing to penalize Mark Davis in this instance. Davis crossed the line, and we are disappointed in the League’s decision. The Rooney Rule and all of the League’s equal opportunity efforts need to be strengthened. We have called for meetings with the League to ensure that a process like this never happens again.

We do not doubt that Reggie McKenzie earnestly interviewed Tee Martin, but Mark Davis’ singular focus on Jon Gruden meant that McKenzie was interviewing Martin for second place. The Rooney Rule was never meant to prompt consideration of a candidate of color in the event that a white candidate, who faced no competition, declined an offer. It was meant to give candidates of color an opportunity to compete for the first offer.

Although Tee Martin is an outstanding coach and may one day be a superb NFL head coach, he has not to date been a serious contender for any NFL head coach position. The only candidate the Club interviewed who was on anyone’s prospective head coach list – minority or non-minority – was Gruden.[49]

On January 20, 2018, Mehri said that the Fritz Pollard Alliance will “press the NFL for more stringent enforcement of the [Rooney] [R]ule going forward.”[50] Mehri’s proposed solution is to have NFL teams report all interviews they conduct rather than the current system of reporting only the interviews of employees from other NFL teams.[51] “Such a change would allow the League to better monitor the hiring process and determine in real time whether there has been compliance with the Rooney Rule, Mehri said.”[52] The Fritz Pollard Alliance also plans to ask the NFL to “redouble the effort” to improve diversity of NFL offensive coordinators, and also to help improve college coaching diversity.[53]

While the Raiders have been embroiled in seemingly circumventing the Rooney Rule, the Arizona Cardinals (Cardinals) announced on January 22, 2018 that they hired Steve Wilks (Wilks) as the team’s new head coach.[54] With the hire of Wilks, the “current total (eight) is tied for the highest number of minority head coaches in NFL history.”[55]

III.  Expansions of the Rooney Rule

In 2009, the Rooney Rule was expanded, as it now requires NFL teams to interview minority candidates for senior football operation jobs as well as head-coaching positions.[56] Included are general managers and equivalent front-office positions; so now teams have to interview minority candidates for head coaching positions, general managers, and front-office personnel.[57] Roger Goodell (Goodell), Commissioner of the NFL, sent a memo on June 15, 2009 to the NFL’s thirty-two (32) member teams, informing them of the new requirement.[58] The expansion of the Rule was received extremely well by the teams, after the idea was recommended at the NFL’s League meeting in May of 2009.[59] However, when the Fritz Pollard Alliance previously talked to NFL officials about expanding the Rooney Rule in this exact way, NFL officials resisted making the move at that time and instead asked teams to follow the guidelines voluntarily.[60] There are exceptions to the expansion of the Rule.

The [L]eague indicated the minority interviewing rule will not apply to a case in which a team’s top front-office job is held or filled by the franchise’s owner or a member of his or her family, or in a case in which a team has an existing contractual obligation to promote a member of its front-office staff. According to the [L]eague, Goodell also urged teams to interview a diverse slate of candidates for other vacant front-office jobs.[61]

Rick Smith | The Rooney Rule NFL | Sports LawIn 2011, it was reported that there were five African American general managers in the front offices of NFL teams: “Ozzie Newsome (Ravens), Rod Graves (Cardinals), Rick Smith (Texans), Jerry Reese (Giants) and Martin Mayhew (Lions).”[62] However, these general managers were all “named to their roles prior to the expansion of the Rooney Rule in June 2009 to include front office executives.”[63] However, in 2016 it was noted that “there are no African American team presidents.”[64]

In February of 2016, Goodell announced that the NFL would expand the Rooney Rule to include women for executive positions.[65] While giving a speech at the 2016 NFL Women’s Summit, Goodell stated:

We have something called the Rooney Rule which requires us to make sure when we have an opening at the team level or the [L]eague level that we are going to interview a diverse slate of candidates,’ Goodell said. At least one woman will be considered in the slate of candidates for every open executive position at the league, he added.[66]

It only made sense to extend the [R]ule to include gender diversity for [L]eague office executive positions,’ said Robert Gulliver, the NFL’s chief human resources officer. ‘If you think outside the NFL, a lot of major organizations have announced in the last year similar efforts to extend something like the Rooney Rule. Here’s an opportunity for clubs to adopt this as a best practice, and we are excited about the opportunity to have some more thoughtful dialogue with the clubs.[67]

The NFL had to clarify that the new addition to the Rule only required the League office, and not the teams, to interview women for executive positions.[68] However, the NFL has encouraged its member teams to consider interviewing women for executive positions as a best practice.[69]

Kimberly Fields | The Rooney Rule NFL | Soirts Law  Renie Anderson | The Rooney Rule NFL | Sports Law

Women are having more of an interest in football than ever before. In 2015, the “Super Bowl drew 54 million female viewers–or more than the 2015 Academy Awards and Grammy Awards combined”[70] Women are not just fans of football, but are actively participating in different aspects of the game. “And women aren’t just watching from the sidelines: there are female football coaches, officials, executives, team owners, financial officers…the list goes on and on and it’s likely to get even longer, given the NFL’s recent commitment to hire more women.”[71] In the past few years, there has been an increase in female executives at the NFL Headquarters including Senior Vice President Renie Anderson, Chief Football Operations Strategy Officer Kimberly Fields, and Chief Marketing Officer Dawn Hudson.[72] Other notable female executives in the NFL are Chief Health and Medical Advisor Betsy Nable, Senior Vice President and Chief Litigation Officer Anastasia Danias, Executive Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs Cynthia Hogan, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Michelle McKenna-Doyle, and Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility Anna Isaacson.[73]

Samantha Rapoport | The Rooney Rule NFL | Sports LawAlso of note is the NFL’s Director of Football Development, Samantha Rapoport (Rapoport), who “is working to create a pipeline for women interested in tackling a career in football.”[74] In 2017 Rapoport helped created the NFL Women’s Careers in Football Forum.[75] “The goal was to help participants identify if, where, and how they could launch a career in the sport.”[76] To accomplish this goal the Forum “brought in NFL team owners, coaches, and general managers to speak to 220 female tackle football players about the different areas that exist within football operations.”[77] As a result of the first Forum, twenty-two (22) women have obtained employment in professional, collegiate, and high school level football operations.[78] Nine women went on to secure employment in coaching and scouting careers in NFL training camps.[79] Rapoport just completed the second annual Forum in January of 2018, and results are yet to come. For the second Forum the focus was on “women who already knew they wanted a career in football operations but needed help getting their foot in the door.”[80]

‘At the end of the day, for our clubs, it’s about winning,’ Rapoport says. ‘You can’t be the best if you look at half the country. If you want the best college football players and you only look at half of the country, you’re certainly going to miss out on half the talent. It’s the same principle with women or any minority population.’[81]

Mary Ann Turcke | The Rooney Rule | Sports Law

In March of 2018, the NFL announce that it had promoted “Mary [Ann] Turcke [(Turcke)]to chief operating officer, making her the highest-ranking woman at the [L]eague offices.”[82] Commissioner Roger Goodell stated:

[s]ince joining NFL Media last year, Mary [Ann] has distinguished herself by leading NFL Network to a record-setting year. We look forward to Mary [Ann] building upon this success, and her previous achievements as president of Bell Media, as she steps into this larger role. I expect her leadership, vision and corporate governance experience to help evolve our organization and take it to a higher level.[83]

“Turcke will lead the marketing, communications, human resources, international and events and technology departments.”[84] Turke joined the NFL in February of 2017 as their President of Digital Media and NFL Network where she managed the NFL Network, NFL Films, and Digital Media.[85]

 

The first female executive of an NFL team was Amy Trask, who was the Raiders’ CEO from 1997 to 2013, and is still the only female to have been an NFL chief executive.[86]

‘When I learned that the NFL was instituting a ‘Rooney Rule’ for women, my immediate thought and response was that it should be called the ‘Al Davis Rule,’ Trask said in an email to Yahoo! Sports. ‘I both like and respect Dan Rooney, and I enjoyed a terrific working relationship with him for decades, so my response was not a denigration of Dan but a recognition of Al.’[87]

Other team executives include “Dawn Aponte in Miami, Jeanne Bonk in San Diego, Allison Maki in Detroit and Katie Blackburn in Cincinnati.”[88]

  

In 2015, Jen Welter (Welter) became the Cardinals’ “assistant coaching intern for training camp and the preseason to work with inside linebackers.”[89] Welter was also “the first female coach in a men’s professional football league when she was hired by the Texas Revolution of the Champions Indoor Football league to coach linebackers and special teams.”[90] Kathryn Smith, Special-teams quality control coach for the Bills, made history in January of 2016 when she became the NFL’s first full-time female assistant.[91] In 2015, Sarah Thomas made history when she became the NFL’s first female official.[92] Thomas was also “the first woman to officiate a major college football game and a bowl game.”[93]

IV.  How Well Has the Rooney Rule Worked

The results are mixed when it comes to whether the Rooney Rule actually works. When confronted by owners who wanted to hire whomever they wanted to hire, Rooney responded, “we say you must give an opportunity to an African-American or a minority.”[94] He continued saying “[t]hat [the Rooney Rule] sort of took hold. And when we went to work through that, it worked.”[95]

The NFL was trying to diversify head coaching positions when the Rooney Rule was created. During the years of 1963-2012, there were “124 white head coaches in the NFL, 14 African American head coaches, and three Latino head coaches.”[96] “Historically, the disparity and skewed representation between white head coaches in the NFL (87.9%) and non-white head coaches (12.1%) is indisputable over a fifty-year period.”[97]

In 2016, a study was undertaken to review the careers of more than 1,200 coaches, employed between 1985 and 2012, to try to determine if the Rooney Rule really has made an impact.[98] ESPN Sports Writer Mina Kimes (Kimes) reviewed the study, which was published by professors from Georgetown, George Washington, Emory and Iowa State University (Georgetown Study) and concluded that:

By controlling for this factor, [Christopher I.] Rider and his co-authors (Professors James B. Wade, Anand Swaminathan and Andreas Schwab) could drill down to a simple question: If you take white and black coaches who oversee the same position, are they equally likely to advance? The answer, according to the data, is no. The white coach is 114 percent more likely to become a coordinator. ‘Black coaches are less likely to be promoted than white ones, independent of their first position, their current position, their employer, their prior experience, their education and their age,’ the authors wrote. And so we’re left with a simple explanation: discrimination. Rider and his team estimated that it takes nine years before a white coach has a greater than 50 percent chance of becoming coordinator, compared with 14 years for a nonwhite coach.[99]

Simply put, the study found “there is a huge loophole in the Rule: [i]t doesn’t apply to coordinators or position coaches.”[100]

In a study that was published in April of 2016 in the American Law and Economics Review, a researcher found that when comparing hiring trends for NFL head coaches, NFL coordinators, and NCAA head coaches, because of the Rooney Rule, the minority candidate applying for the head coach position for a NFL team is twenty percent more likely to get the job than a minority candidate trying to obtain a coordinator position on a NFL team or a head coach position for a NCAA member university team.[101] In an article dated May 20, 2016 entitled “Rethinking the NFL’s Rooney Rule for More Diversity at the Top,” journalist Jason Reid (Reid) notes that only twenty-five percent (25%) of minorities were represented among coaches, while sixty-eight percent (68%) of NFL players are African American.[102] Reid also states that only 19.4 percent of the NFL’s front office positions and business operations personnel were filled by minorities in 2015.[103]

In 2016, a study found that even though the Rooney Rule could be working better for minorities to interview for head coaching positions, the Rooney Rule could also be working better for other coaching staff positions. Mike Sando (Sando), the author of Rooney Rule in Reverse: Minority Coaching Hires Have Stalled, concluded:

The Panthers, Jets and Steelers are the only teams with coaching staffs composed of at least 50 percent minorities in the 2016 season. All three have minority head coaches, but five of their six offensive and defensive coordinators are white. This is not an anomaly. The minority head coaches hired over the past 20 years filled their initial staffs with minority defensive coordinators 11 times in 21 chances, beating the 30 percent rate for white head coaches over that span. However, these same minority head coaches started out with white offensive coordinators 76 percent of the time.[104]

Moreover, Kimes also reported that teams give white coaches a promotion without regard to the coach’s performance, experience, and coaching background, and at the same time minority coaches are not given the same benefit.[105] Likewise, Sando also found that teams are more likely to promote white head coaches than minority coaches.[106] “For most of the black guys, they give you raises and not promotions,” a prominent minority coach said.[107] “They put money in your pocket to keep you right there to handle that position group. You usually will take it because you have nowhere to go.”[108] Sando also found in his review of research that “[m]inorities dominate coaching positions for running backs and, to a lesser degree, the defensive secondary, but whites fill the most upwardly mobile spots.”[109] Sando denotes that the Georgetown Study “concluded in part that while teams do hire minorities for positions carrying a lower likelihood for promotion, white coaches gained promotions more readily even when researchers accounted for assistant coaches’ initial and current NFL jobs.”[110]

As of July of 2016, only one first time minority coach, Todd Bowles (Bowles), was given a chance as a head coach of a NFL team over the past five years, while twenty-one first time white coaches were given the same chance.[111] Bowles gave “the N.F.L. a net increase of one nonwhite head coach [in 2015], in a [L]eague where 67 percent of the players were African-American in 2013.”[112] However, given the slow movement, 2017 is going to have more minority head coaches in the NFL than ever before.

The 2017 NFL season will begin with seven African-American Head Coaches and one Latino Head Coach[: Anthony Lynn, Vance Joseph, Marvin Lewis, Mike Tomlin, Jim Caldwell, Hue Jackson Todd Bowles, and Ron Riviera]. Eight minority coaches is the new record for diversity, exceeding by one the number of minority Coaches in 2006, 2008, and 2011 and is a positive sign.[113]

    

Below is a chart detailing the hiring of minority coaches in the NFL:

Coach Team Year[114]
Marvin Lewis Cincinnati Bengals 2003-Present
Lovie Smith Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2004-2012 & 2014-2015
Terry Robiskie Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns 2000 & 2004
Romeo Crennel Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs 2005-2008 & 2011-2012
Mike Tomlin Pittsburgh Steelers 2007-Present
Emmitt Thomas Atlanta Falcons 2007
Mike Singletary San Francisco 49ers 2008-2010
Jim Caldwell Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions 2009-2011 & 2014-Present
Raheem Morris Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2009-2011
Perry Fewell Buffalo Bills 2009
Leslie Frazier Minnesota Vikings 2010-2013
Eric Studesville Denver Broncos 2010
Ron Rivera Carolina Panthers 2011-Present
Todd Bowles New York Jets 2015-Present
Hue Jackson Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns 2011 & 2016-Present
Anthony Lynn Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers 2016 & 2017-Present
Vance Joseph Denver Broncos 2017

  

V.  Critiques of Rooney Rule

In 2011, Jason Whitlock (Whitlock) of Fox Sports stated:

The Rooney Rule has lost its effectiveness to do that. Billionaire owners do not care about a $250,000 fine for failing to comply with a [R]ule they don’t believe in. By the time his career is finished, millionaire linebacker James Harrison will pay that much money in fines for “illegal” hits.

A quarter of a million dollars is not a deterrent for Stephen Ross or Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder.[115]

Whitlock continues saying that “NFL owners have turned the Rooney Rule into a joke, interviewing token minority candidates to avoid a paltry fine while waiting to rubber-stamp the hiring of a white coach.”[116] Even people, who are in the trenches and have to experience the Rooney Rule on a daily basis when looking for a job, have issues with the Rooney Rule as well. “Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, for example, said that only two of his four interviews from the last hiring cycle were legitimate.” And let’s not forget the example above regarding the Browns’ hiring of a new general manager in December of 2017. The interview of Doug Whaley, regardless of whether the Browns intended to seriously consider him or not “— unfair and wrong as that may be — satisfies the requirement for interviewing a minority candidate. The sincerity of that meeting is the question.”[117]

The administration who implemented the Rooney Rule have also found faults with it. Most notably Tagliabue believes that “the Rooney Rule has [not] done as much as anyone hoped it would.”[118] “’What is it, five out of 32?’ Tagliabue said in December of 2016 regarding the number of minority head coaches currently in the NFL. ‘Everyone feels, I am sure, that it would be nice if there was more talent rising to the top.’”[119]

Another organization having an impact on hiring of minority coaches is the FPA. The FPA, founded in 2003, is a foundation that promotes equality in coaching, scouting and front-office jobs for NFL teams.[120] The foundation is named for Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard (Pollard), the first African American selected to the Walter Camp All American Team (1915) and the first African American to play in the Rose Bowl.[121] Additionally, Pollard has the distinction to be the first African American Professional Football Coach, having coached for the Pros/Indians (1920 to 21, 1925 to 26), the Milwaukee Badgers (1922), the Hammond Pros (1923, 1925), and the Providence Steam Roller (1925).[122] In 2005, Pollard was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[123] The FPA currently lists its mission as follows:

The FPA promotes candidate talent development for coaching, front office executives and scouting staff throughout the [NFL] through strategic efforts including (but not limited to):

  • Networking
  • Mentoring
  • Encouraging adoption of rules and practices that foster diversity on NFL teams Educating NFL team owners and managers regarding the availability of minority candidates for team staff positions
  • Advocating the hiring and promotion of minority candidates in NFL team staff hierarchy through public education and communication with team and league ownership and management.[124]

Former Bills Offensive Coordinator and current Los Angeles Chargers (Chargers) Head Coach, Anthony Lynn (Lynn) has stated that he thinks sometimes teams interview minority coaches “to check the box.”[125] And while he has this criticism of the implementation of the Rooney Rule, Lynn also concludes that “it’s good to get in front of the decision-makers and let them hear what you have to say.”[126] In the fall of 2016, FPA Chairman John Wooten in an interview with VICE Sports said Lynn is “one of our guys who’ve really been prepared for years [. . .] he had interviews at a couple of places for a head coach opportunity. We certainly think he has the knowledge, the skill level, the offensive mind [to succeed].”[127] In January of 2017, the Chargers announced that they hired Lynn as their new head coach.[128]

Some other critics of the Rooney Rule are afraid that teams are reverting back to old hiring practices for the head coach position. “‘In a way, it is good that those guys have been second-timers and they roll into the system so that they are treated like everyone else,’ Dungy said. ‘That is progress. But in looking at the numbers overall, we have shifted back to some old hiring practices.”[129] Dungy, a major critic of the Rooney Rule, has expressed his feelings about the Rooney Rule multiple times:

The good thing about the Rooney Rule was not that you had to interview a minority candidate but that it slowed the process down and made you do some research [. . .] but now it seems like in the last few years, people haven’t really done what the Rule was designed for. It has become, ‘[j]ust let me talk to a couple minority coaches very quickly so I can go about the business of hiring the person I really want to hire anyway.[130]

Dungy has also stated:

Too frequently, we don’t look at leadership, we don’t look at getting the most out of people, we don’t look at bringing people together and staff together—all those things that you need to be a head coach. It is not an inexact science. It is done in an inexact way. Look how long it took Bruce Arians to get a head-coaching job; it is not just with minorities.[131]

Dungy believes that the problem does not lie with minorities, but that “when you are a minority head coach, you have even that added burden, or added handicap of not always being highly publicized.”[132]

The spirit behind the Rooney Rule is effective when the interview process is executed properly,’ Dungy said. ‘To foster diversity helps in a lot of ways, and in the NFL it allows you to get a better and deeper pool of people and then you can pick from it. It only adds to the quality of people hired.[133]

Although Dungy is a critic of the Rooney Rule, he does see the positive effects that the Rooney Rule has had. To Dungy, “the Rooney Rule is doing what it is supposed to do. It’s not just to interview minority coaches, but to investigate every candidate and make a thorough list and highlight the person who fits you.”[134] Dungy has also complimented the author of the Rooney Rule as well calling “Rooney ‘unique’ for his willingness to research each head-coaching hire with the right qualities in mind.”[135]

However, ESPN Senior Writer Mike Sando and others believe that it is actually Dungy’s coaching tree that has made a bigger impact in the hiring of minorities as head coaches rather than the Rooney Rule. Sando opines “that perceived progress in minority head coaching hires had more to do with Dungy’s coaching tree than with the Rooney Rule driving a shift in how teams operate.”[136] Sando goes on to say that “Dungy also blazed trails. He and his assistant coaches fueled a surge in minority representation within the head-coaching ranks as Lovie Smith, Edwards, Caldwell and Tomlin rose in prominence.”[137] “Dungy and his former assistants accounted for 43 percent of minority head-coaching hires over the past two decades and 39 percent since the Rooney Rule took effect.”[138] Many of the minority coaches who have been hired over the last two decades have played some role on Dungy’s coaching staff. “Eight of the 21 minority head-coaching hires since 1997 involved coaches who either entered the NFL on one of Dungy’s staffs or had worked [on] his staff previously. A ninth involved Dungy himself, with the [Indianapolis] Colts naming him their head coach in 2002.”[139] Some minority coaches have been able to land a head coaching job partly because of Dungy’s recommendation.[140]

Whitlock concludes his opinion of the effectiveness of the Rooney Rule by acknowledging that decisions are made before the interview process even begins and states:

At this point, forcing NFL owners to conduct token interviews won’t result in more hires. I think the [L]eague should partner with Tony Dungy on an annual daylong seminar at the owners meeting that mandates ownership, team presidents and general managers interact with and interview Dungy’s handpicked top-25 minority coaching candidates.

Networking is how minority coaches can get on the radar for head-coaching and coordinator jobs. It’s rare that you win a coaching job in the interview process. You win the job when there is a mutual attraction, when someone you trust and respect has told you, ‘You’re really going to like this person. He/she is perfect for you.’[141]

Another criticism is that there are too few minority head coaches at the university level, which is another pool of potential NFL coaches that never comes to fruition.[142] According to Richard Johnson, a journalist for SB Nation, “[w]e can’t analyze diversity at the head coaching level unless we also analyze the steps throughout one of the most common paths toward a head coaching career, which begins when potential coaches are still players.”[143] A 2013 study reviewed the historical research on “racial stacking,” wherein minority participants in football teams are disproportionately situated in lesser roles than white counterparts.[144] The study’s authors, Joshua Pitts of Kennesaw State University and Daniel Yost of the College of Mount St. Joseph, designed their study to be similar to Eitzen and Stanford’s 1975 study that investigated the high school, collegiate, and professional football positions of 387 pro-football players. In 1975 Eitzen and Standford concluded that:

African Americans comprised 33.8 percent of those players in the quarterback position (central position) at the high school level. In moving to the college ranks, that number dropped significantly to 8.7 percent. Additionally, African Americans comprised 49.2 percent of those players in the running back position (peripheral position) at the high school level. In moving to college, a marked increase was noted at 69.9 percent.[145]

Similarly Pitts and Yost analyzed the data from the 2008 and 2009 recruiting classes for 1,006 football players signed with Bowl Championship Series universities as found on Rivals.com’s website.[146] There findings also followed the same track as the 1975 study wherein Pitts and Yost concluded that:

Of black players who played QB in high school, 62 percent changed positions in college, per the study. Some moves are in the best interest of players, but only 16 percent of white QBs changed positions. Researchers found 22 percent of all players switched positions.[147]

SB Nation also reviewed sixty-five coaching staffs (plus Notre Dame) in the NCCA’s Power 5 divisions. Their findings included three African American quarterback coaches or passing game coordinators (only Garrick McGee of Illinois and Pep Hamilton of Michigan played the position in college), and three African American offensive line coaches (only Brad Davis of Florida and Brandon Jones of Texas Tech played center in college.)[148] SB Nation also found that “[a]cross all positions, about 26 percent of assistants” are African American, which at the time is only “about half the percentage” of African American players.[149]

In 2015, The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) of the University of Central Florida annual study revealed that

87.5 percent of the 128 head football coaches in the NCAA’s bowl subdivision were white. Three black coaches were hired in 2015, including Mike Jinks, who replaced Dino Babers at Bowling Green. In college basketball, 23.8 percent of the men’s Division I coaches were of color, down from 24.8 percent. Twenty-two percent were African-American, down from 23 percent.[150]

The majority of players on collegiate basketball and football teams are minorities. “The numbers are striking, especially considering 72.9 percent of NCAA basketball players are non-white (57.6 percent African-American) and 58.7 percent of football players were non-white (46.9 percent African-American).”[151] Even the majority of minority Division I head coaches, responding to an offseason poll, stated that the NCAA should create a rule that copies the Rooney Rule.[152] There could also be even more minority head coaches in the NFL if the NCAA implemented a Rooney Rule. “With too few minority head coaches at the college level, another potential reservoir of talented candidates never becomes fully developed.”[153] The lack of diversity of head coaches in Division I collegiate athletics is rather disturbing, and if the NCAA really wants to diversify and create equal opportunities for minorities to become head coaches, they really should implement a rule similar to the Rooney Rule to help combat this problem.

This problem does not just effect colleges and universities; it goes further down the pipeline to high schools. In 2012, Ty Schalter (Schalter) reviewed the ranking system of Rivals.com and found that they included two types of quarterbacks, “Pro Style” and “Duel Threat.”[154] While the classifications mainly included white quarterbacks, Schalter stated that “the rankings are made by people with biases and preconceptions just like the rest of us, but they’re accurately describing what they’re seeing: youth and high school football coaches grooming kids to fill these roles.”[155] Many football coaches, Schalter explains, train their teams from a traditional perspective.[156] The traditional perspective seemingly looks for and picks out quarterback potentials that they believe will follow the line of notable quarterbacks like Joe Montana and John Elway.[157] “Football coaches look for this player because that is what’s always succeeded at the highest levels. That’s the kind of quarterback their mentor won with, or they played with—or they were themselves, years ago.”[158] As Schalter so eloquently puts it, “football men seek to repeat the past.”[159] So in essence, there is a racial stigma that effects the entire system from the players up to the coaches. Warren Moon, the lone African American Quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame aptly stated that:

[d]espite the fact that there were a lot of African-Americans playing in the National Football League in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, there was a stereotype that we weren’t capable of succeeding at certain positions. If you played those positions in college and you got drafted, you knew you were probably going to get moved in the NFL. Supposedly, we weren’t smart enough or had the leadership qualities or whatever it took. At every position, for African-Americans, conquering that myth at quarterback was so important.[160]

In 1988, Doug Williams became the first African American quarterback to win the Super Bowl and smash the color barrier.[161] This would not be repeated until 2014 when Russell Wilson and the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2014.[162] Between 1988 and 2017, only a handful of African American quarterbacks have even participated in the Super Bowl. Those quarterbacks include: Cam Newton (Panthers), Colin Kaepernick (49ers), Donavan McNabb (Eagles), and Steve McNair (Titans).[163] Of this tradition, Dungy has said that “’we’ve kind of stereotyped our young kids into different thought patterns. And most of it is based on perception. There was a time when we didn’t have black quarterbacks. The thought of, for black kids, ‘OK, I’m going to play quarterback and I’m going to the NFL,’ it wasn’t there.”[164]

And therein lies the crux of the issue relative to the lack of African American college and university head coaches. Of the disparity of diversity in coaching staff, Sean T. Frazier, Director of Athletics of Northern Illinois University said that “[t]here’s a disconnect there. It’s not like we don’t have qualified folks who can sit in the chair. There’s a plethora. It’s just connecting them to the relationships to fill the chair. I don’t have the answer for it.”[165] The job of offensive coordinator “’has a more direct line to being a head coach, and there haven’t historically been a lot of [minorities],’ Stanford coach David Shaw said.”[166] Former African American players that do move into coaching often start as a wide receiver coach or defensive back coach and more or less get stuck there.[167] Floyd Keith (Keith), former Executive Director of the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA) and former college coach has said that while wide receiver coaching or defensive back coaching are important jobs, African American coaches are not in “thinking positions,” i.e. – coaching jobs that could lead to a head coaching position.[168]

NCAA data reveals that “[t]here were only eight minority (6.7 percent) head coaches in the F[ootball] B[owl] S[ubdivision] during the 2007-08 calendar year despite 54.9 percent of student athletes identifying as minorities,” and “in the 2011-12 academic year, there were 19 minority head coaches (16.5 percent) compared to 59.1 percent of student athletes identifying as minorities.”[169] Keith says that those numbers mean “one thing – a broken system.”[170] In an interview for 247Sports, Keith said, “[w]e’ve still got issues, man. I could just push a tape recorder to tell you about them. It’s been about two decades of dealing with all of this for me, and it hasn’t changed a whole lot.”[171]

The NCAA has taken steps to try to improve their statistics. For instance, the NCAA “has partnerships with the NFL, the American Football Coaches Association and other groups with training programs emphasizing professional development.”[172] For minority coaches, the NCAA operates a program called “The Champions Forum.” This program consists of participating coaches from the ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, and Pac-12 Conferences.[173] These “’rising stars’ work through a three-day program designed for head coach preparation;” wherein “[t]hey simulate various parts of the interview process, talk to decision-makers and gain a better understanding of search firms.”[174] The Champions Forum began in 2006, and includes a “yearlong evaluations to provide minority football coaches the realistic preparation necessary to become a college head coach.”[175] Scottie Montgomery, head football coach at East Carolina University and 2013 Champions Forum participant, said that he could not “put into words how much it [The Champions Form] helped” him.[176] Montgomery continued by saying “[t]hat was the one thing – they gave us an opportunity to be prepared.”[177] Montgomery returned to the Champions Forum in 2016 as a presenter.[178]

Another program operated by the NCAA consists of the sponsorship of “[twenty (20)] coaches, regardless of race, annually for the AFCA/NCAA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute and another 60 for the NCAA/NFL Coaches Academy.”[179] The AFCA/NCAA 35 under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute is a one day event held in conjunction with the American Football Coaches Association Convention that “is designed to identify and train rising leaders in the game of football and the coaching profession, and will feature interactive lectures on topics that include ethics, leadership, NCAA rules, financial management, the coach hiring practice and student-athlete safety.”[180] Additionally the NCAA/NFL Coaches Academy is a three-day event wherein NCAA and NFL staff are “able to educate and train selected participants in a variety of areas that encourage effective coaching and improve student-athlete well[-]being at both the college and professional levels.”[181]

NCAA Director of Leadership Development Curtis J. Hollomon (Hollomon) says that the low numbers of attendees is purposeful. Hollomon states that:

[w]hat we’re looking at, and why they’re smaller, is because we can focus and hone in and look at the people that really, in the next year or two, will be ready to advance. We get them in the CEO mindset. We’re not just trying to place people in AD positions and head coaching positions, we’re trying to make sure when they get in that position, they can be a hellified coach or administrator. We don’t want to just put them out there because they’re a minority.[182]

Yet still in 2015 when asked about how aware colleges and universities are of outstanding minority coaches, Donald Yee, an agent representing minority coaches, said “[o]n a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being most aware, I believe it’s a 1. I don’t know the reasons, but I’m basing that on discussions with ADs or associate ADs in charge of football. There is very little awareness.”[183] In July of 2016, a minority coach speaking on the condition of anonymity said: “[r]emember the old thing [where they said] you can’t win with a black quarterback? It is almost like that for the coaches.”[184]

In August of 2016, Presidents and Chancellors at NCAA member universities were encouraged to sign a pledge entitled “Pledge and Commitment to Promoting Diversity and Gender Equity in Intercollegiate Athletics.”[185] Then interim NCAA Board of Governors chair, Jay Lemons, stated:

We believe the pledge sends a powerful and important signal. We know we must do better, and we believe that by acting collectively we can do better. We also hope that it will send a very clear and strong signal to those young persons, who perhaps haven’t even imagined a career in college sports, that there is a place for persons of color and women in college sports. And we hope that we will find ways of encouraging and creating the opportunities for professional growth and development that will bring better results so that, a decade down the road from now, we will have made great progress.[186]

This is the furthest that the NCAA is seemingly able to push the issue forward. Most agree that some form of Rooney Rule would be helpful, “the NCAA cannot adopt the proposal because it is a nonprofit, voluntary member association unable to influence individual institutions’ hiring practices.”[187]

In November of 2017, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) reported that they had been in talks with current and former players regarding the need for equality in the workplace.[188] “Some of the former players who have transitioned into coaching told the NFLPA they would like to see stronger accountability and enforcement if teams don’t truly adhere to the Rooney Rule.”[189] NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith stated that “[w]hen it comes to advocacy, we’ve never shied away from it. And certainly, the players that brought attention to the issues that they wanted to raise, it reminded us that there are additional fights to be fought as well.”[190] The NFL’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent stated that the NFL “would welcome a partnership with the NFLPA on this front.”[191]

VI.  Impact of the Rooney Rule

Although the impact of the Rooney Rule has been mixed, but 2017, so far, has been a good year for minorities being hired as head coaches for NFL teams. “If 2011 was a ground-breaking year – three other minorities finished that season in charge of teams, Mel Tucker in Jacksonville, Romeo Crennel in Kansas City, and Bowles in Miami – Robert Gulliver, Tony Dungy and Cyrus Mehri are excited with how 2017 has begun.”[192] However, while the Rooney Rule may have helped more minorities get hired in 2017 for head coaching positions, the Rooney Rule does not appear to help the overall issue of more minorities being hired.

In 2016, various league initiatives—led by the Rooney Rule…continue[d] to address the symptoms, [but] not the underlying issues: 80 of the NFL’s current 85 offensive coordinators, quarterback coaches and offensive quality control coaches are white, including all 37 with the word ‘quarterback’ in their titles, 23 of 32 defensive coordinators are white.[193]

Dr. C. Keith Harrison, an associate professor at the University of Central Florida, who conducted a study that the NFL sponsored, concluded that the “Rooney Rule has created more opportunities in the hiring marketplace for non-white head coach candidates and has accomplished its initial intended purpose of bringing attention to the issue of underrepresentation of ethnic minorities as head coaches in the NFL.”[194]

While the Rooney Rule has helped minorities gain interviews for head coaching positions, whether the Rooney Rule is actually making a difference is hard to tell because the progress that the Rooney Rule is making is very slow.[195] “Of the seven head coaching vacancies in 2015, six have been filled, and Bowles is the only minority to have been hired, leaving the N.F.L. with a total of 19 percent of head coaches who are from minority backgrounds.”[196] More minorities would be considered for head coaching positions if the Rooney Rule was extended to offensive and defensive coordinator positions. “If there were more minority coordinators in the pipeline, theoretically, there would be more minorities in the applicant pool for head coaching positions. The Rooney Rule does nothing to address that basic fact.”[197]

Professor Charles Ogletree, a law professor at Harvard University and founder of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, described how the Rooney Rule is not working as well as it should be by explaining:

There is a big difference between interviewing and hiring, . . . There has just been too little effort in that regard. There needs to be more hiring in a significant way, and not just because they are black, but because they are talented and do well when they get those jobs. There is no acceptable reason for this underrepresentation.[198]

Jeremi Duru, a law professor at American University’s Washington College of Law and author of the book entitled Advancing The Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL, believes that while the Rule is not perfect,

‘the whole idea of it is to prompt kind of a culture change in the league. It’s not that the outcome of each particular interviewing season is going to vindicate the rule, but rather that the rule will put in place the sense that, in order to be the best, you have to think broadly. It’s the idea that in order to succeed and be competitive, you have to look at the deep pool of candidates.’[199]

Even though the Rooney Rule has helped widen the candidate pool for the head coach position, giving minorities a chance at a head coaching position, and has also changed the way teams interview candidates for the head coach position, the Rooney Rule “may enable a non-White individual to have an opportunity to secure that initial head coach position, but intangible factors such as trust and perceived competence may have even more of an impact on future occupational mobility.”[200] Researchers found that “white position coaches in the NFL were twice as likely to be promoted to a coordinator position than their black counterparts. The skin color advantage was consistent across the board, regardless of a coach’s age, experience or career performance.”[201] The way that head coaches are normally hired is by seeing whom the prospective head coach hire worked under. “Fans can study a coach’s pedigree by analyzing who he’s worked under, how those coaches have influenced his own schemes and strategy, and ultimately how his successors have fared when they move on to head coaching gigs of their own.”[202]

In order to improve the Rooney Rule, there has to be a significant change in the hiring process. One way to do this is by having a Transparent Performance Scale.[203] There are six steps that make up the Transparent Performance Scale; they are:

  1. Level of trust in candidate;
  2. Level of perceived risk associated with hiring candidate;
  3. Candidate’s pervious win/loss record and coaching success;
  4. Relationships with decision-makers at the team with which the candidate is interviewing;
  5. How the coach was referred to the team; and
  6. A comparison to other candidates previously interviewed by the team for the position.[204]

Teams have to change the way that they hire head coaches and other senior football staff in order for the Rooney Rule to really work the way the creators of the Rooney Rule wanted it to.

The Rooney Rule already covers head coaching positions and other senior football operation jobs, the Rooney Rule should also require teams to interview minorities for coordinator positions.[205] “[. . .] The Fritz Pollard Alliance proposed that coordinator-level and team president positions should be covered under the Rule. The NFL rejected the proposal, but in 2013 the League did restart the Career Development Symposium, which previously ran from 1998-2008.”[206] The NFL recently expanded the Rooney Rule to cover coordinator positions, but the expansion of the Rooney Rule to the coordinator positions is merely a suggestion, and not an actual requirement.[207] “While not a formal requirement, it’s a ‘recommended best practice’ that teams ‘consider a diverse group of candidates’ when hiring a coordinator. The memo to the teams explaining the enhancement requested that the teams ‘make an effort to interview a diverse slate of candidates before selecting a new coordinator.’”[208] Even head coaches in the League believe the Rooney Rule should require teams to at least interview minorities for offensive and defensive coordinators. “Second-, third- and fourth time white head coaches outnumber all minority hires by a 40-21 margin during that span.”[209]

Cardinals Coach Bruce Arians “thinks the [L]eague should expand the Rooney Rule to include interviews for jobs as coordinators.”[210] Teams will not face penalties the same way that they will if they do not interview at least one minority candidate for the coordinator position.[211] To really make the expansion to coordinators element of the Rooney Rule really effective, the NFL should make the coordinator element a requirement and if a team violates that portion of the Rule, that team will be penalized.

Although the specter of fines should serve as a deterrent to teams violating the rule, there’s another step the league could take to ensure compliance besides the removal of draft picks: require teams to provide transcripts of interviews with minority candidates. That way, the Fritz Pollard Alliance and the commissioner’s office could judge for themselves whether teams adhered to the spirit of the rule.[212]

VII.     Impact outside the NFL

While the Rooney Rule may not be working as fast as it should be with hiring more minorities for head coaching positions within the NFL, the Rooney Rule has made an impact on society as a whole and has expanded to the public and private sector. After Rooney’s death, Mayor Bill Peduto (Peduto) announced that the City of Pittsburgh would institute its own version of the Rooney Rule.[213] Peduto is “[c]alling on his personnel department to craft policies for recruiting diverse candidates for any supervisory job in city government. Additionally, Peduto’s order directs the City Office of Management and Budget to adopt similar policies for contracting.”[214] U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (Schumer) has also urged his colleagues to adopt a similar policy to the Rooney Rule, “[w]hich will require Senate offices to interview at least one minority applicant for senior staff openings.”[215] The diversity rule is part of a wider package of caucus rules that Schumer will propose.[216]

  

The tech world has also implemented a Rooney Rule.[217] In August of 2015, then President Obama called on the tech industry and asked “companies to step up their game on workforce diversity.”[218] The rule that the tech companies are following states that “[a]t least one woman and one underrepresented minority must be considered in the slate of candidates for either every open position or every open senior position (the details vary from company to company).”[219] The Wall Street Journal found that people of color only hold 1-7% of executive positions in technology.[220] Only four percent of people of color even hold executive positions in the tech world.[221] Both Pinterest and Xerox have publicly announced hiring goals to comply.

Pinterest announced its hiring goals for 2016; for full-time engineering roles, the goal is for 39% of roles to be filled by women and 8% of roles to be filled by people from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. Xerox has long assigned numbers to its employment objectives, which is perhaps why the company is setting its sights even higher: It is aiming for 34% of the executive leadership team to be female within the next five years (up from 28% currently).[222]

Uber has also just implemented a policy that is very similar to the Rooney Rule, and “said it will follow the recommendations in a report by former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. and institute a version of the ‘Rooney Rule’.”[223] This is a smart move given that the lack of diversity within Uber is astounding.

22 percent of the company’s leadership positions were held by women, compared with 78 percent held by men. That disparity is even larger when Uber counted leadership positions only in technology: Women claim 11.3 percent of those roles, compared with 88.7 percent claimed by men.[224]

The formal rule that Uber will follow is described as follows, “[. . .] Uber interview at least one woman and one member of an underrepresented minority group in the pool of candidates for key positions. It’s unclear how senior or junior those roles will be.”[225] So hopefully with this new rule in place, Uber will diversify.

In June of 2017, Diversity Lab, “which creates and invests in innovative talent management and diversity initiatives,”[226] announced that they were “partnering with thirty (30) leading law firms to pilot the Mansfield Rule.”[227] The Manfield Rule, “[n]amed for Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States,” seeks to measure “whether law firms have affirmatively considered women and attorneys of color — at least 30 percent of the candidate pool — for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and lateral positions.”[228] Roger Meltzer, Global Co-Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Americas, of DLA Piper, LLP (US) stated:

Our adoption of the Mansfield Rule ensures that we’re following through on our commitment to diversity and thinking broadly whenever new leadership positions come available at all levels across the firm. We’re glad to pilot this initiative, which will benefit not only our firm but the legal industry as a whole.[229]

Additionally, more than forty-five (45) legal departments of public sector corporations attended a “Client Forum” to show support for the new program.[230] Among the attendees were 3M and Gap, Inc.’s Ivan Fong, Senior VP of Legal Affairs & General Counsel for 3M, who stated:

‘We believe diversity and inclusion help make us a more innovative and competitive company, and the same is true for our suppliers and outside counsel. The Mansfield Rule Client Forum is an innovative way for us to recognize law firms that are trying something new to further boost diversity in their top ranks.’[231]

  

In a similar statement, Julie Gruber, Executive VP and Global General Counsel of Gap, Inc., declared: “We believe that diversity delivers better results. We’ve worked for years to help drive meaningful diversity at our preferred law firm providers, and supporting the Mansfield Rule Client Forum is an important next step in this work.”[232] The Mansfield Rule asks law firms

to consider two or more candidates who are women or attorneys of color when hiring for leadership and governance roles, promotions to equity partner, and hiring lateral attorneys. And if a firm can demonstrate 30 percent of the pool for these positions are diverse, they’ll be ‘Mansfield Certified.’[233]

Seyfarth Shaw, a law firm with 900 lawyers employed, implemented a Rooney Rule in 2015, and imposed the rule specifically to the Labor and Employment section, which is their biggest department.[234] “Seyfarth Shaw [. . .] nearly doubled the number of new minority associates to 55 percent within the first year. The firm has since expanded the ‘Rooney Rule’ firm wide.”[235]

In addition to the NFL, another sports league across the pond has also implemented their own Rooney Rule to help diversify head coach positions, the English Football League (EFL). EFL clubs voluntarily agreed to interview at least one candidate from a black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) background.[236] However, the results were not what the EFL hoped they would be. “Overall, the number of BAME managers in the top four divisions in English football fell to two by the end of last 2016/17 season- Chris Hughton at Brighton and Carlisle’s Keith Curle- despite BAME players accounting for more than a quarter of professional squads.”[237] Even though the results the EFL received were not promising, the EFL is devoted to dealing with the under-representation of BAME coaches and managers and is implementing the recruitment code to all 72 of the EFL clubs next season.[238]

This means a suitably qualified BAME candidate must be interviewed for all coaching positions within academies and clubs will commit to the principle of speaking to at least one BAME candidate for senior first-team roles, including the top job, whenever they run a full process.[239]

The EFL is still in the process of receiving results from the academy portion of the code, but from what it seems, the news from last season is slightly more encouraging than previously thought.[240]

[q]ualified BAME candidates are three times more likely to get an interview than non-BAME candidates. The EFL has data from 76 of 123 jobs that were advertised on its website and there were nearly 1,500 applications, including 170 from BAME candidate. Just under one in five of all applications led to an interview but slightly more than half of qualified BAME applicants were interviewed and 11 of the 76 jobs went to BAME candidates.[241]

  

However, back in the United States, even though the NFL is striving to make a difference in the league by hiring minorities that normally would not be considered for a position, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, (NCAA) has not taken the same steps to help diversify head coaches on the collegiate level. Since the NFL has created the Rooney Rule, other institutions, businesses and governmental units have also implemented a Rooney Rule. For example, the State of Oregon created a law that requires colleges that have a head coaching vacancy to interview a minority candidate.[242] Additionally, the University of Texas System also has a rule that requires hiring practices to include “a candidate from an underrepresented group in the final round of interviews for all senior administrative positions.”[243]

The Pac 12 conference in turn has shown a willingness to create a Rooney Rule. “In July [of 2015], Pac-12 [C]ommissioner Larry Scott told ESPN.com he would back a Rooney Rule in collegiate athletics.”[244] The Pac 12 conference has seen the positive impact that the Oregon law has had on Oregon colleges and universities, and is willing to implement a rule that will require other schools in the conference to abide by the same rule.

Sam Sachs, a civil rights advocate and the driving force behind a 2009 law that mimics the rule and requires public universities in Oregon to interview a minority candidate for all head-coaching vacancies, said he’s talked to prominent organization about expanding the Oregon statute throughout the Pac-12 and beyond via the passage of state laws or NCAA/conference policies. Oregon and Oregon State are currently subjected to the provision under state law.[245]

So even though the NCAA is slow moving to create a Rooney Rule for themselves, other participants in the NCAA are willing and able to create and follow a Rooney Rule.

VIII. Conclusion

The Rooney Rule, while it has had a positive impact, has not lived up to the full potential the creators were hoping it would.

According to data compiled with help of the website pro-football-history.com, the Rooney Rule has helped minority candidates for head coaching positions make what could best be described as paper progress over the last 15 years. But even if the process is being adhered to, the majority of NFL teams still appear reluctant to hand over coaching positions to people of color, and the statistics bear that out.

There have been 117 coaching head coaching changes in the NFL since the end of the 2002 season, when the Rooney Rule went into effect. A minority was named a head coach just 25 times. That’s a 21.4 percent rate, and considering the general consensus is that about 70 percent of the players in the league are black, it seems low. It dives even lower, though, when you consider five of the 25 minority men who were named a head coach in the NFL were given that title on an interim basis only. For every Mike Tomlin and Marvin Lewis, there are guys like Buffalo’s Perry Fewell in 2009 and Jacksonville’s Mel Tucker in 2011, good coaches who got a month’s worth of a shot.

It also should be considered that many of those coaches were hired long ago, and the number of first-time minority head coaches has been dwindling precipitously in recent years. From 2012 through 2016, the NFL had 22 first-time head coaches hired. All but one was white.

That’s actually not so surprising, really. Because statistically, it’s 90 percent more likely that a head coaching hire will have had experience as an offensive or defensive coordinator, and the coordinator ranks are, frankly, white and getting whiter. There were 61 coaches in the NFL in 2017 who held a title as either an offensive or defensive coordinator. Only 12 were black. Only two of those — Arizona’s Harold Goodwin and Green Bay’s Edgar Bennett — were offensive coordinators. And they both worked for head coaches — the Cardinals’ Bruce Arians and Packers’ Mike McCarthy — who call their own plays.

Only 19.7 percent of coordinators in the NFL this past season were minorities. And since the Rooney Rule was implemented, only 19.9 percent of new coordinator hires were of minorities.

Those numbers are close, and too big a coincidence to ignore.[246]

The Rooney Rule has, however, has impacted society in general. There is now a Rooney Rule for women to be interviewed for executive positions in the league office. Oregon also made a law that requires colleges or universities to interview a minority for a head coaching position. The University of Texas system has also implemented a Rooney Rule as well. However, the NCAA still has not, and does not have any plans to create a Rooney Rule for member institutions to follow.

We can all learn from the NFL’s Rooney Rule. Since its inception in 2003, there has been a definite uptick in the number of minority coaches in the sport, and several minorities have taken advantage of the opportunity to interview for and secure key roles. Now, let’s see if the leaders of Fortune 500 organizations decide that equal opportunity at the highest levels serves as a good game plan for them.[247]

While it is a good thing to have team owners or executives interview a minority candidate for the head coach position, there are still issues that the Rooney Rule does not resolve, like the actual hiring of minority candidates. And even though the Rooney Rule has now been expanded to cover coordinator positions, that part of the Rule is merely a suggestion and not an actual requirement. So all in all, while the Rooney Rule has made improvements in the diversification of higher up coaching positions on NFL teams, the Rooney Rule is not living up to its full potential. When asked if the Rooney Rule would be reexamined in the future, Godell stated:

“I think our efforts in this area we have to look at more broadly, because it’s not just about the Rooney Rule,” Goodell said Wednesday at the end of the NFL owners meetings. “Our efforts never were. I think it’s an important, fundamental element of that, but I think it’s more broad. How do we create the opportunities and do everything to train and give people experience to advance their careers? We have to do that with a tremendous focus on diversity, so we have people performing at the highest levels. That’s a core value of who we are and what we do. That will come in multiple forms.

Will we look at the Rooney Rule to see if we can improve it? Absolutely. Are we going to look at training methods to give coaches and GMs and others in our operation better opportunities to expand their roles? That’s what we do very well. We’ll look at all of that.[248]

 


Thank you to Danelle Welzig, my paralegal, for her assistance in writing and perfecting this article.

Courtney Brenk is a third-year law student at Marquette University Law School where she currently focusing on Sports Law. In addition to being a 2018 Juris Doctor candidate, Courtney is also a 2018 Sports Law Certificate candidate at Marquette through the National Sports Law Institute. Courtney is a staff member of the Marquette Sports Law Review (Volume 28) and a member of the Sports Law Society at Marquette. Prior to Marquette, Courtney earned her Bachelor of Arts in History, with a minor in English from California Lutheran University (Thousand Oaks, CA). While at Marquette Courtney has been a legal intern for Martin J. Greenberg, was a legal intern at the Wisconsin National Guard JAG, is currently a legal intern at West Bend East High School in the Athletic Department, and is also a research assistant for the National Sports Law Institute.

 


[1] Barry Wilner, NFL Looks at Rooney Rule for Women in League, The Associated Press, Mar. 21, 2016, https://www.apnews.com/14734dc6e47e4b89a2ee4641003d26eb.

[2] Douglas C. Proxmire, Coaching Diversity: The Rooney Rule, Its Application and Ideas for Expansion, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, December 2008, pg. 2.

[3] Kevin Seifert, Rooney Rule Will Forever Associate Dan Rooney With The Highest Ideals, ESPN.com, Apr. 13, 2017, http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/235332/rooney-rule-will-forever-associate-dan-rooney-with-the-highest-ideals.

[4] Douglas C. Proxmire, Coaching Diversity: The Rooney Rule, Its Application and Ideas for Expansion, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, December 2008.

[5] Staff Writer, NFL Seeks More Diversity in Hiring, United Press International, December 20, 2002.

[6] NFL, NFL Clubs to Implement Comprehensive Program to Promote Diversity in Hiring, Dec. 12, 2002, https://www.nfl.info/nflmedia/News/2002News/NFLDiversityProgram.htm.

[7] Id.

[8] Barry Wilner, Rooney Rule Leaves a Legacy and Impact Far Beyond NFL, The Associated Press, Apr. 14, 2017, https://apnews.com/acab0747dbb84570a70ba14fc028e93a/rooney-rule-leaves-legacy-and-impact-far-beyond-nfl.

[9] Jeremy Fowler, Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney Dies at 84, ESPN.com and The Associated Press, April 14, 2017, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19152186/pittsburgh-steelers-chairman-dan-rooney-dies-age-84.

[10] Barry Wilner, Rooney Rule Leaves a Legacy and Impact Far Beyond NFL, The Associated Press, Apr. 14, 2017, https://apnews.com/acab0747dbb84570a70ba14fc028e93a/rooney-rule-leaves-legacy-and-impact-far-beyond-nfl.

[11] NFL, NFL Clubs to Implement Comprehensive Program to Promote Diversity in Hiring, Dec. 12, 2002, https://www.nfl.info/nflmedia/News/2002News/NFLDiversityProgram.htm.

[12] Cynthia DuBois, The Impact of the Rooney Rule: Far Beyond the NFL, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 29, 2017, http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2017/04/30/The-impact-of-the-Rooney-Rule-far-beyond-the-NFL/stories/201704300145.

[13] Barry Wilner, Rooney Rule: 8 Minority Head Coaches for 2017, the Associated Press, Jan. 13, 2017, http://pro32.ap.org/article/rooney-rule-8-minority-head-coaches-2017.

[14] Leigh Steinberg, Rooney Rule for NFL Minority Coaches Needs Tuning, Forbes.com, Jan. 19, 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/leighsteinberg/2017/01/19/rooney-rule-for-nfl-minority-coaches-needs-tuning/#3918d5ed528f.

[15] Rooney Rule, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_Rule (last visited Feb. 22, 2018).

[16] Douglas C. Proxmire, Coaching Diversity: The Rooney Rule, Its Application and Ideas for Expansion, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, December 2008, found in footnote 11.

[17] Id. at 4-5.

[18] Id.

[19] Damon Hack, Pro Football; The N.F.L. Spells Out New Hiring Guidelines, TheNewYorkTimes.com, Dec. 9, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/09/sports/pro-football-the-nfl-spells-out-new-hiring-guidelines.html.

[20] Id.

[21] Douglas C. Proxmire, Coaching Diversity: The Rooney Rule, Its Application and Ideas for Expansion, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, December 2008, page 5.

[22] Id. at 5.

[23] Zach Links, NFL: Panthers Did Not Violate Rooney Rule, ProFootballRumors.com, July 19, 2017, https://www.profootballrumors.com/2017/07/panthers-rooney-rule-marty-hurney.

[24] Ryan Glasspiegel, Did the Eagles Violate the Spirit of the Rooney Rule?, TheBigLead.com, Jan. 21, 2016, http://thebiglead.com/2016/01/21/did-the-eagles-violate-the-spirit-of-the-rooney-rule.

[25] Id.

[26] Id.

[27] Mark Maske, Diversity Group Files Complaint over Redskins GM Search; NFL Finds No Violation (updated), TheWashingtonPost.com, Jan. 7, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/football-insider/wp/2015/01/07/diversity-group-files-complaint-over-redskins-gm-search/?utm_term=.dfb0cb5277f0.

[28] Id.

[29] Id.

[30] Id.

[31] Jarrett Bell, John Wooten, Head of Fritz Pollard Alliance, ‘Livid’ Over Browns’ Approach to Rooney Rule, USAToday.com, Dec. 7, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/bell/2017/12/07/john-wooten-fritz-pollard-alliance-livid-browns-rooney-rule-john-dorsey/933568001.

[32] Id.

[33] Michael Dixon, Concern That Browns Didn’t Meet Rooney Rule Before Hiring John Dorsey as GM, Sportsnaut.com, Dec. 7, 2017, https://sportsnaut.com/2017/12/concern-browns-didnt-meet-rooney-rule-before-hiring-john-dorsey-gm.

[34] Jarrett Bell, John Wooten, Head of Fritz Pollard Alliance, ‘Livid’ Over Browns’ Approach to Rooney Rule, USAToday.com, Dec. 7, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/bell/2017/12/07/john-wooten-fritz-pollard-alliance-livid-browns-rooney-rule-john-dorsey/933568001.

[35] Will Brinson, NFL Investigating Whether Raiders Violated Rooney Rule When They Hired Jon Gruden, CBSSports.com, Jan. 12, 2018, https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-investigating-whether-raiders-violated-rooney-rule-when-they-hired-jon-gruden.

[36] Sean Wagner-McGough, Jon Gruden Puts His Impeccable Legacy at Risk in Hyped Return to the Raiders, CBSSports.com, Jan. 10, 2018, https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jon-gruden-puts-his-impeccable-legacy-at-risk-in-hyped-return-to-the-raiders.

[37] Id.

[38] Id.

[39] Will Brinson, NFL Investigating Whether Raiders Violated Rooney Rule When They Hired Jon Gruden, CBSSports.com, Jan. 12, 2018, https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-investigating-whether-raiders-violated-rooney-rule-when-they-hired-jon-gruden.

[40] Scooby Axson, Fritz Pollard Alliance Wants NFL to Probe Raiders For Potential Rooney Rule Violation, SI.com, Jan. 11, 2018, https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/01/11/oakland-raiders-jon-gruden-rooney-rule.

[41] Will Brinson, NFL Investigating Whether Raiders Violated Rooney Rule When They Hired Jon Gruden, CBSSports.com, Jan. 12, 2018, https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-investigating-whether-raiders-violated-rooney-rule-when-they-hired-jon-gruden.

[42] Scooby Axson, Fritz Pollard Alliance Wants NFL to Probe Raiders For Potential Rooney Rule Violation, SI.com, Jan. 11, 2018, https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/01/11/oakland-raiders-jon-gruden-rooney-rule.

[43] Mike Florio, Circumstances Suggest Raiders Violated the Rooney Rule, NBCSports.com, Jan. 4, 2018, http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/01/04/circumstances-suggest-raiders-violated-the-rooney-rule.

[44] Austin Knoblauch, NFL Looking Into Whether Raiders Violated Rooney Rule, NFL.com, Jan. 11, 2018, http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000905508/article/nfl-looking-into-whether-raiders-violated-rooney-rule.

[45] Mike Florio, Circumstances Suggest Raiders Violated the Rooney Rule, NBCSports.com, Jan. 4, 2018, http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/01/04/circumstances-suggest-raiders-violated-the-rooney-rule.

[46] Will Brinson, NFL Investigating Whether Raiders Violated Rooney Rule When They Hired Jon Gruden, CBSSports.com, Jan. 12, 2018, https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-investigating-whether-raiders-violated-rooney-rule-when-they-hired-jon-gruden.

[47] Paul Gutierrez via ESPN, John Wooten Decries NFL’s Ruling that Raiders Honored Rooney Rule, ABCNew.go.com, Jan. 19, 2018, http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/john-wooten-decries-nfls-ruling-raiders-honored-rooney/story?id=52473636.

[48] Paul Gutierrez, John Wooten Decries NFL’s Ruling that Raiders Honored Rooney Rule, ESPN.com, Jan. 19, 2018, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22154540/nfl-says-oakland-raiders-complied-rooney-rule-hiring-jon-gruden-head-coach.

[49] Id.

[50] Mark Maske, Diversity Group Will Seek Rooney RuleReforms After Jon Gruden’s Hiring by Raiders, DenverPost.com, Jan. 21, 2018, https://www.denverpost.com/2018/01/21/diversity-group-rooney-rule-reforms-jon-gruden-raiders

[51] Id.

[52] Id.

[53] Id.

[54] Conor Orr, Wilks Gets Cardinals Job, Rooney Rule Gets a Win, www.si.com, Jan. 22, 2018, https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/01/22/cardinals-tap-steve-wilks-head-coaching-gig-focus-turns-number-minority-coaches

[55] Id.

[56] Cynthia DuBois, The Impact of the Rooney Rule: Far Beyond the NFL, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 29, 2017, http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2017/04/30/The-impact-of-the-Rooney-Rule-far-beyond-the-NFL/stories/201704300145.

[57] Mark Maske, NFL Extends Rooney Rule to Encourage Hiring of Minorities in Front Offices, WashingtonPost.com, June 16, 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/15/AR2009061502806.html.

[58] The Associated Press, NFL Expands Rooney Rule to Top Execs, The Associated Press, June 15, 2009, http://www.steelers.com/assets/images/imported/MediaContent/2009/06/22/08/clips_6_16_09_105889.pdf.

[59] Id.

[60] Mark Maske, NFL Extends Rooney Rule to Encourage Hiring of Minorities in Front Offices, WashingtonPost.com, June 16, 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/15/AR2009061502806.html.

[61] Id.

[62] Andrew Brandt, The Rooney Rule: An Analysis, HuggingtonPost.com, May 25, 2011, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-brandt/the-rooney-rule-an-analys_b_804691.html.

[63] Id.

[64] Jason Reid, Rethinking the NFL’s Rooney Rule for More Diversity at the Top, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT.COM, May 20, 2016, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rethinking-the-nfls-rooney-rule-for-more-diversity-at-the-top.

[65] Kevin Patra, Goodell: NFL Will Institute Rooney Rule for Female Executives, Around the NFL, Feb 4, 2016, http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000632320/article/roger-goodell-nfl-creating-a-rooney-rule-for-women.

[66] Valentina Zarya, Here’s How the NFL Plans to Hire More Female Execs, Fortune.com, Feb. 4, 2016, http://fortune.com/2016/02/04/women-nfl-rooney-rule.

[67] Barry Wilner, NFL Looks at Rooney Rule for Women in League, The Associated Press, Mar. 21, 2016, https://www.apnews.com/14734dc6e47e4b89a2ee4641003d26eb.

[68] Kevin Patra, Goodell: NFL Will Institute Rooney Rule for Female Executives, Around the NFL, Feb 4, 2016, http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000632320/article/roger-goodell-nfl-creating-a-rooney-rule-for-women.

[69] Barry Wilner, Rooney Rule: 8 Minority Head Coaches for 2017, the Associated Press, Jan. 13, 2017, http://pro32.ap.org/article/rooney-rule-8-minority-head-coaches-2017.

[70] Valentina Zarya, Get to Know These 10 NFL Women Before Watching the Super Bowl, Fortune.com, Feb. 5, 2016, http://fortune.com/2016/02/05/most-powerful-women-nfl.

[71] Id.

[72] Barry Wilner, NFL Looks at Rooney Rule for Women in League, The Associated Press, Mar. 21, 2016, https://www.apnews.com/14734dc6e47e4b89a2ee4641003d26eb.

[73] Valentina Zarya, Get to Know These 10 NFL Women Before Watching the Super Bowl, Fortune.com, Feb. 5, 2016, http://fortune.com/2016/02/05/most-powerful-women-nfl.

[74] Morgan Brinlee, Who is Samantha Rapoport? The NFL Exec Wants to Smash the League’s Boys’ Club Image, Bustle.com, Feb. 1, 2018 https://www.bustle.com/p/who-is-samantha-rapoport-the-nfl-exec-wants-to-smash-the-leagues-boys-club-image-8078123.

[75] Id.

[76] Id.

[77] Id.

[78] Id.

[79] Id.

[80] Id.

[81] Id.

[82] The Associated Press, NFL promotes Maryann Turcke to chief operating officer,ABCNews.go.com, Mar. 13, 2018, http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/nfl-promotes-maryann-turcke-chief-operating-officer-53715782.

[83] Id.

[84] Id.

[85] Press Release, NFL Names Mary Ann Turcke President, Digital media and NFL Network, NFLCommunications.com, Feb. 2017, https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/NFL-Names-Mary-Ann-Turcke-President,-Digital-Media-and-NFL-Network.aspx

[86] Levi Damien, New ‘Rooney Rule’ for Women Should be Called ‘Al Davis Rule’, Amy Trask Agrees, SilverandBlackPride.com, Jun. 27, 2016, https://www.silverandblackpride.com/2016/6/27/12045736/new-rooney-rule-for-women-should-be-called-al-davis-rule-amy-trask-agrees.

[87] Id.

[88] Barry Wilner, NFL Looks at Rooney Rule for Women in League, The Associated Press, Mar. 21, 2016, https://www.apnews.com/14734dc6e47e4b89a2ee4641003d26eb.

[89] Josh Weinfuss, Jen Welter Hired by Cardinals; Believed to be First Female Coach in NFL, ESPN.com, Jul. 28, 2015, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/13328608/jen-welter-hired-arizona-cardinals-assistant-coach.

[90] Id.

[91] Valentina Zarya, Get to Know These 10 NFL Women Before Watching the Super Bowl, Fortune.com, Feb. 5, 2016, http://fortune.com/2016/02/05/most-powerful-women-nfl.

[92] Ashley Fox, Meet Sarah Thomas, NFL’s First Female Official, ESPN.com, Apr. 17, 2017, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/12669370/meet-sarah-thomas-first-female-nfl-official-referee.

[93] Id.

[94] Cynthia DuBois, The Impact of the Rooney Rule: Far Beyond the NFL, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 29, 2017, http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2017/04/30/The-impact-of-the-Rooney-Rule-far-beyond-the-NFL/stories/201704300145.

[95] Id.

[96] Dr. C. Keith Harrison, Examining Coaching Mobility Trends and Occupational Patterns, Head Coaching Access, Opportunity and the Social Network in Professional and College Sport, National Football League, 2013, http://operations.nfl.com/media/2616/2013-nfl-diversity-and-inclusion-report.pdf.

[97] Id.

[98] Jared Dubin, The Rooney Rule Appears to Mask a Larger Racial Problem in Coaching, CBsSports.com, Jan. 12, 2016, https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/the-rooney-rule-appears-to-mask-a-larger-racial-problem-in-coaching.

[99] Id.

[100] Id.

[101] Cynthia DuBois, The Impact of the Rooney Rule: Far Beyond the NFL, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 29, 2017, http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2017/04/30/The-impact-of-the-Rooney-Rule-far-beyond-the-NFL/stories/201704300145.

[102] Jason Reid, Rethinking the NFL’s Rooney Rule for More Diversity at the Top, FiveThirtyEight.com, May 20, 2016, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rethinking-the-nfls-rooney-rule-for-more-diversity-at-the-top/.

[103] Id.

[104] Mike Sando, Rooney Rule in Reverse: Minority Coaching Hires Have Stalled, Espn.com, July 19, 2016, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17101097/staggering-numbers-show-nfl-minority-coaching-failure-rooney-rule-tony-dungy.

[105] Jason Reid, Rethinking the NFL’s Rooney Rule for More Diversity at the Top, FiveThirtyEight.com, May 20, 2016, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rethinking-the-nfls-rooney-rule-for-more-diversity-at-the-top/.

[106] Mike Sando, Rooney Rule in Reverse: Minority Coaching Hires Have Stalled, Espn.com, July 19, 2016, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17101097/staggering-numbers-show-nfl-minority-coaching-failure-rooney-rule-tony-dungy.

[107] Id.

[108] Id.

[109] Id.

[110] Id.

[111] NFL’s Rooney Rule Questioned as Diversity Issues Remain Within Coaching Ranks, Sports Business Daily, Jul. 20, 2016, http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2016/07/20/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/Rooney-Rule.aspx.

[112] David Waldstein, Success and Shortfalls in Effort to Diversify N.F.L. Coaching, N.Y. Times, Jan. 20, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/sports/football/jets-hiring-of-todd-bowles-leaves-nfl-far-short-of-goal-on-diversity.html?mcubz=3.

[113] Leigh Steinberg, Rooney Rule for NFL Minority Coaches Needs Tuning, Forbes.com, Jan. 19, 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/leighsteinberg/2017/01/19/rooney-rule-for-nfl-minority-coaches-needs-tuning/#3918d5ed528f.

[114] Information in the chart was found at Rooney Rule, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_Rule (last visited Feb. 22, 2018).

[115] Jason Whitlock, Rooney Rule Couldn’t Work Forever, FoxSports.com, Jan. 13, 2011, https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/jason-whitlock-nfl-rooney-rule-needs-an-update-to-stay-effective-011311.

[116] Id.

[117] David Kenyon, Report: Browns Interviewed Whaley, Satisfied Rooney Rule, MSN.com, Dec. 8, 2017, https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/report-browns-interviewed-whaley-satisfied-rooney-rule/ar-BBGoY4z.

[118] Mike Florio, Paul Taugliabue Unhappy with Performance of Rooney Rule, NBC Sports, Dec 7, 2016, http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/12/07/paul-tagliabue-unhappy-with-performance-of-rooney-rule/.

[119] Id.

[120] Brian Batko, Rooney Rule Legacy Touches Entirety of NFL and Beyond, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.com, Apr. 13, 2017, http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2017/04/14/Dan-Rooney-Rule-NFL-diversity-minority-coaches-Pittsburgh-Steelers/stories/201704140130.

[121] Adam Rank, Fritz Pollard: A Forgotten Trailblazer, NFL.com, Feb. 1, 2014, http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000325958/article/fritz-pollard-a-forgotten-trailblazer.

[122] Id.

[123] Id.

[124] Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation: Mission, https://fritzpollard.org/mission (last visited Feb. 22, 2018).

[125] Mike Rodak, Anthony Lynn, Bills’ Black Offensive Coordinator, Against Rooney Rule, ABC7.com, Dec. 15, 2016, http://abc7.com/sports/anthony-lynn-bills-black-offensive-coordinator-against-rooney-rule/1658246.

[126] Id.

[127] Ty Schalter, Anthony Lynn Beat the Odds, But Can He Beat the AFC East?, Sports.Vice.com, Sep. 23, 2016, https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/pgnkby/anthony-lynn-beat-the-odds-but-can-he-beat-the-afc-east.

[128] Gregg Rosenthal, Chargers Hire Anthony Lynn as Their New Head Coach, NFL.com, Jan. 13, 2017, http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000773571/article/chargers-hire-anthony-lynn-as-their-new-head-coach.

[129] Mike Sando, Rooney Rule in Reverse: Minority Coaching Hires Have Stalled, Espn.com, July 19, 2016, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17101097/staggering-numbers-show-nfl-minority-coaching-failure-rooney-rule-tony-dungy.

[130] Aaron Torres, Tony Dungy Calls Out NFL Teams for Misusing the ‘Rooney Rule’, FoxSports.com, July 19, 2016, http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/tony-dungy-rooney-rule-overhaul-todd-bowles-071916.

[131] Mike Sando, Rooney Rule in Reverse: Minority Coaching Hires Have Stalled, Espn.com, July 19, 2016, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17101097/staggering-numbers-show-nfl-minority-coaching-failure-rooney-rule-tony-dungy.

[132] Id.

[133] Barry Wilner, Rooney Rule: 8 Minority Head Coaches for 2017, the Associated Press, Jan. 13, 2017, http://pro32.ap.org/article/rooney-rule-8-minority-head-coaches-2017.

[134] Id.

[135] Mike Sando, Rooney Rule in Reverse: Minority Coaching Hires Have Stalled, Espn.com, July 19, 2016, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17101097/staggering-numbers-show-nfl-minority-coaching-failure-rooney-rule-tony-dungy.

[136] Id.

[137] Id.

[138] Id.

[139] Id.

[140] Id.

[141] Jason Whitlock, Rooney Rule Couldn’t Work Forever, FoxSports.com, Jan. 13, 2011, https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/jason-whitlock-nfl-rooney-rule-needs-an-update-to-stay-effective-011311.

[142] Chris Hummer, Does CFB Need a Rooney Rule? It’s Complicated, 247Sports.com, Jul. 25, 2017, https://247sports.com/Article/Exploring-college-footballs-lack-of-minority-head-coaches-and-th-105453203.

[143] Richard Johnson, College Football’s Lack of Black Head Coaches is The Result of a Flawed Pipeline, SBNation.com, Aug. 9, 2017, https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/8/9/15959410/black-coaches-rooney-rule-assistants-quarterbacks.

[144] Id.

[145] Id.

[146] Id.

[147] Id.

[148] Id.

[149] Richard Johnson, College Football’s Lack of Black Head Coaches is The Result of a Flawed Pipeline, SBNation.com, Aug. 9, 2017, https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/8/9/15959410/black-coaches-rooney-rule-assistants-quarterbacks.

[150] Shannon Ryan, With Number of Black Head Coaches Down, NCAA Needs its Own Rooney Rule, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 18, 2016, http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-ncaa-black-coaches-ryan-column-spt-0118-20160117-column.html.

[151] Id.

[152] Myron Medcalf, Advocates ask Pac-12 to Look at Rule to Diversify Coaching Searches, ESPN.com, Sep. 1, 2015, http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/13558719/advocates-ask-pac-12-consider-rooney-rule-college-athletics.

[153] Mike Florio, Paul Taugliabue Unhappy with Performance of Rooney Rule, NBC Sports, Dec 7, 2016, http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/12/07/paul-tagliabue-unhappy-with-performance-of-rooney-rule/.

[154] Ty Schalter, Why African-American QBs Are Systemically Trained to Abandon Mechanics, BlearcherReport.com, Mar. 5, 2012, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1089725-why-african-american-qbs-are-systemically-trained-to-abandon-mechanics.

[155] Id.

[156] Id.

[157] Id.

[158] Id.

[159] Id.

[160] Jason Reid and Jane McManus, The NFL’s Racial Divide: Teams Don’t Consciously build Rosters Based on Race, it Just Ends Up That Way, TheUndefeated.com, https://theundefeated.com/features/the-nfls-racial-divide.

[161] Black Quarterbacks Who’ve Played in the Super Bowl, NBCNews.com, Feb. 8, 2016, https://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/black-quarterbacks-who-ve-played-super-bowl-n513226.

[162] Id.

[163] Id.

[164] Jason Reid and Jane McManus, The NFL’s Racial Divide: Teams Don’t Consciously build Rosters Based on Race, it Just Ends Up That Way, TheUndefeated.com, https://theundefeated.com/features/the-nfls-racial-divide.

[165] Edward Aschoff and Adam Rittenberg, Is There Finally a Glimmer of Hope for Minority Coaches?, ESPN.com, Dec. 21, 2015, http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/14416624/is-there-glimmer-hope-minority-coaches.

[166] Id.

[167] Chris Hummer, Does CFB Need a Rooney Rule? It’s Complicated, 247Sports.com, Jul. 25, 2017, https://247sports.com/Article/Exploring-college-footballs-lack-of-minority-head-coaches-and-th-105453203.

[168] Id.

[169] Id.

[170] Id.

[171] Id.

[172] Id.

[173] Chris Hummer, Does CFB Need a Rooney Rule? It’s Complicated, 247Sports.com, Jul. 25, 2017, https://247sports.com/Article/Exploring-college-footballs-lack-of-minority-head-coaches-and-th-105453203.

[174] Id.

[175] Todd Goodale, Champion Forum a Pathway for Minority Coaches, NCAA.org, Sep. 1, 2016, http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/leadership-development/champion-forum-pathway-minority-coaches.

[176] Id.

[177] Id.

[178] Id.

[179] Chris Hummer, Does CFB Need a Rooney Rule? It’s Complicated, 247Sports.com, Jul. 25, 2017, https://247sports.com/Article/Exploring-college-footballs-lack-of-minority-head-coaches-and-th-105453203.

[180] AFCA/NCAA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/leadership-development/afca/ncaa-35-under-35-coaches-leadership-institute (last visited Feb. 22, 2018).

[181] NCAA and NFL Coaches Academy, http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/leadership-development/ncaa-and-nfl-coaches-academy (last visited Feb. 22, 2018).

[182] Chris Hummer, Does CFB Need a Rooney Rule? It’s Complicated, 247Sports.com, Jul. 25, 2017, https://247sports.com/Article/Exploring-college-footballs-lack-of-minority-head-coaches-and-th-105453203.

[183] Edward Aschoff and Adam Rittenberg, Is There Finally a Glimmer of Hope for Minority Coaches?, ESPN.com, Dec. 21, 2015, http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/14416624/is-there-glimmer-hope-minority-coaches.

[184] Mike Sando, Rooney Rule in Reverse: Minority Coaching Hires Have Stalled, Espn.com, July 19, 2016, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17101097/staggering-numbers-show-nfl-minority-coaching-failure-rooney-rule-tony-dungy.

[185] Amy Wimmer Schwab, Presidents Called to Sign Diversity Pledge, NCAA.org, Aug. 4, 2016, http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/presidents-called-sign-diversity-pledge.

[186] Id.

[187] Edward Aschoff and Adam Rittenberg, Is There Finally a Glimmer of Hope for Minority Coaches?, ESPN.com, Dec. 21, 2015, http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/14416624/is-there-glimmer-hope-minority-coaches.

[188] Mike Jones, Beyond the Rooney Rule: NFLPA Wants to Improve Landscape for Minority Coaches, USAToday.com, Nov. 17, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/mike-jones/2017/11/17/nfl-minority-coaching-candidates-rooney-rule/872407001.

[189] Id.

[190] Id.

[191] Id.

[192] Barry Wilner, Rooney Rule: 8 Minority Head Coaches for 2017, the Associated Press, Jan. 13, 2017, http://pro32.ap.org/article/rooney-rule-8-minority-head-coaches-2017.

[193] Mike Sando, Rooney Rule in Reverse: Minority Coaching Hires Have Stalled, Espn.com, July 19, 2016, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17101097/staggering-numbers-show-nfl-minority-coaching-failure-rooney-rule-tony-dungy.

[194] Dr. C. Keith Harrison, Examining Coaching Mobility Trends and Occupational Patterns, Head Coaching Access, Opportunity and the Social Network in Professional and College Sport, National Football League, 2013, http://operations.nfl.com/media/2616/2013-nfl-diversity-and-inclusion-report.pdf.

[195] Brooks Hays, Researchers Find Racial Bias in Promotions of NFL Coaches, United Press International, Jan. 21, 2016, https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2016/01/21/Researchers-find-racial-bias-in-promotions-of-NFL-coaches/9371453386426.

[196] David Waldstein, Success and Shortfalls in Effort to Diversify N.F.L. Coaching, N.Y. Times, Jan. 20, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/sports/football/jets-hiring-of-todd-bowles-leaves-nfl-far-short-of-goal-on-diversity.html?mcubz=3.

[197] Jason Reid, Rethinking the NFL’s Rooney Rule for More Diversity at the Top, FiveThirtyEight.com, May 20, 2016, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rethinking-the-nfls-rooney-rule-for-more-diversity-at-the-top/.

[198] David Waldstein, Success and Shortfalls in Effort to Diversify N.F.L. Coaching, N.Y. Times, Jan. 20, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/sports/football/jets-hiring-of-todd-bowles-leaves-nfl-far-short-of-goal-on-diversity.html?mcubz=3.

[199] Jason Reid, Rethinking the NFL’s Rooney Rule for More Diversity at the Top, FiveThirtyEight.com, May 20, 2016, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rethinking-the-nfls-rooney-rule-for-more-diversity-at-the-top/.

[200] Dr. C. Keith Harrison, Examining Coaching Mobility Trends and Occupational Patterns, Head Coaching Access, Opportunity and the Social Network in Professional and College Sport, National Football League, 2013, http://operations.nfl.com/media/2616/2013-nfl-diversity-and-inclusion-report.pdf.

[201] Brooks Hays, Researchers Find Racial Bias in Promotions of NFL Coaches, United Press International, Jan. 21, 2016, https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2016/01/21/Researchers-find-racial-bias-in-promotions-of-NFL-coaches/9371453386426/.

[202] Andrew Beaton and Camden Hu, The NFL Coaching Tree, WSJ.com, Dec. 9, 2015, http://graphics.wsj.com/nfl-coaches.

[203] Dr. C. Keith Harrison, Examining Coaching Mobility Trends and Occupational Patterns, Head Coaching Access, Opportunity and the Social Network in Professional and College Sport, National Football League, 2013, http://operations.nfl.com/media/2616/2013-nfl-diversity-and-inclusion-report.pdf.

[204] Id.

[205] Leigh Steinberg, Rooney Rule for NFL Minority Coaches Needs Tuning, Forbes.com, Jan. 19, 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/leighsteinberg/2017/01/19/rooney-rule-for-nfl-minority-coaches-needs-tuning/#3918d5ed528f.

[206] Jason Reid, Rethinking the NFL’s Rooney Rule for More Diversity at the Top, FiveThirtyEight.com, May 20, 2016, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rethinking-the-nfls-rooney-rule-for-more-diversity-at-the-top/.

[207] Mike Florio, It’s Unclear Whether All Teams are Complying with Enhanced Rooney Rule, NBCSports.com, Jan. 10, 2017, http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/01/10/its-unclear-whether-all-teams-are-complying-with-enhanced-rooney-rule/.

[208] Id.

[209] Mike Sando, Rooney Rule in Reverse: Minority Coaching Hires Have Stalled, Espn.com, July 19, 2016, http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17101097/staggering-numbers-show-nfl-minority-coaching-failure-rooney-rule-tony-dungy.

[210] Id.

[211] Mark Maske, NFL Vows to Apply Rooney Rule Informally to Some Coordinator Openings, The Washington Post, Dec. 21, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2016/12/21/nfl-vows-to-apply-rooney-rule-informally-to-some-coordinator-openings/?utm_term=.e2d4b587d0c2.

[212] Jason Reid, Rethinking the NFL’s Rooney Rule for More Diversity at the Top, FiveThirtyEight.com, May 20, 2016, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rethinking-the-nfls-rooney-rule-for-more-diversity-at-the-top.

[213] Peduto Pledges City Hiring Efforts Similar to ‘Rooney Rule’, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.com, Apr 19, 2017, http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/04/19/Mayor-Bill-Peduto-pledges-city-hiring-effort-similar-to-NFL-Dan-Rooney-Rule/stories/201704190173.

[214] Id.

[215] Scott Bland, Schumer to Introduce Rules for Diverse Senate Hiring, Politico.Com, Feb. 28, 2017, http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/schumer-diversity-nfl-rooney-rule-235477.

[216] Id.

[217] Valentina Zarya, Why is the “Rooney Rule” Suddenly Tech’s Answer to Hiring More Women?, Fortune.com, Aug. 10, 2015, http://fortune.com/2015/08/10/rooney-rule-diversity-in-tech.

[218] Id.

[219] Id.

[220] Alexandrea Alphonso, When Football and Tech Meet: On the Rooney Rule and Diversity Hiring in Silicon Valley, TheSportsFanJournal.com, Jan. 24, 2017, http://www.thesportsfanjournal.com/columns/the-fam/rooney-rule-nfl-black-coaches-diversity-in-tech-silicon-valley.

[221] Id.

[222] Valentina Zarya, Why is the “Rooney Rule” Suddenly Tech’s Answer to Hiring More Women?, Fortune.com, Aug. 10, 2015, http://fortune.com/2015/08/10/rooney-rule-diversity-in-tech.

[223] Hamza Shaban, What is the ‘Rooney Rule’ that Uber just Adopted, TheWashingtonPost.com, June 13, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/06/13/what-is-the-rooney-rule-that-uber-just-adopted/?utm_term=.ca33d4e2c738.

[224] Id.

[225] Id.

[226] Diversity Lab, Caren Ulrich Stacy, DiversityLab.com, http://www.diversitylab.com/team_members/caren-ulrich-stacy.

[227] Diversity Lab, 30 Law Firms Pilot Version of the NFL’s Rooney Rule to Boost Diversity in Leadership Ranks, PRNeswsWire.com, Jun. 8, 2017, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/30-law-firms-pilot-version-of-the-nfls-rooney-rule-to-boost-diversity-in-leadership-ranks-300471052.html.

[228] Id.

[229] Id.

[230] Id.

[231] Id.

[232] Id.

[233] Kathryn Rubino, Get Ready for the Biglaw ‘Rooney Rule’ as Firms Try to Actually Do Something About Diversity, AboveTheLaw.Com, Jun 8 2017, https://abovethelaw.com/2017/06/get-ready-for-the-biglaw-rooney-rule-as-firms-try-to-actually-do-something-about-diversity/.

[234] L.M. Sixel, Seyfarth Shaw Adopts NFL “Rooney Rule” to Spur Minority Hiring, Chron.com, Aug. 24, 2017, http://www.chron.com/business/article/Seyfarth-Shaw-adopts-NFL-Rooney-Rule-to-spur-11387030.php.

[235] Id.

[236] Matt Slater, EFL to Extend ‘Rooney Rule’ Trial to All Clubs Despite Mixed Results Last Season, TheIndependent.co.uk, July 11, 2017, http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/efl-rooney-rule-bame-birmingham-chesterfield-coventry-wolves-a7835256.html.

[237] Id.

[238] Id.

[239] Id.

[240] Id.

[241] Id.

[242] Myron Medcalf, Advocates ask Pac-12 to Look at Rule to Diversify Coaching Searches, ESPN.com, Sep. 1, 2015, http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/13558719/advocates-ask-pac-12-consider-rooney-rule-college-athletics.

[243] Doug Samuels, The Texas System of Colleges and Universities have Created Their Own “Rooney Rule, FootballScoop.com, Jan. 28, 2016, http://footballscoop.com/news/the-texas-system-of-colleges-and-universities-has-created-its-own-rooney-rule.

[244] Myron Medcalf, Advocates ask Pac-12 to Look at Rule to Diversify Coaching Searches, ESPN.com, Sep. 1, 2015, http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/13558719/advocates-ask-pac-12-consider-rooney-rule-college-athletics.

[245] Id.

[246] Donnie Collins, League’s Rooney Rule not fulfilling original purpose, The Times-Tribune, Jan. 14, 2018, http://thetimes-tribune.com/sports/league-s-rooney-rule-not-fulfilling-original-purpose-1.2290343

[247] Kenneth Johnson, What Corporations Can Learn About Diversity From the NFL’s Rooney Rule, Forbes, Feb. 1, 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/02/01/what-corporations-can-learn-about-diversity-from-the-nfls-rooney-rule/#200c84fe47de

[248] Scott Blair, Roger Goodell says NFL will look at improving Rooney Rule, diversity hiring, NBCSports.com, March 28, 2018, http://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/raiders/roger-goodell-says-nfl-will-look-improving-rooney-rule-diversity-hiring.