NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league has no plans to shut down its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices. In fact, he says DEI makes the “NFL better.”
During a Monday press conference, Goodell was asked how the NFL intended to deal with its own DEI presence despite dozens of DEI offices shutting down voluntarily or involuntarily nationwide since President Trump’s election.
“Listen, we got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League,” Goodell said when asked about the league’s DEI practices, “and we’re going to continue those efforts because we’ve not only convinced ourselves, I think we’ve proven ourselves that it does make the NFL better; so we’re not in this because it’s a trend to get in or a trend to get out of it. Our efforts are fundamental in trying to attract the best possible talent into the National Football League — both on and off the field, as I said previously — and we see that. We see how it’s benefited the National Football League, so I think we’ll continue those efforts.”
Roger Goodell, on the NFL’s DEI policies moving forward: “We’re not in this because it’s a trend. It’s about attracting the best talents.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 3, 2025
“I think we’ll continue those efforts.”
Goodell also defended the league’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minorities for coaching positions.
“There’s no requirement to hire a particular individual on the basis of race or gender,” he continued. “It’s simply on the basis of looking at a canvas of candidates that reflect our communities and to look at the kind of talent that exists there, and then you make the best decision on who is hired. And so many of us, including the National Football League at our office, are doing that voluntarily at all levels because it has benefited us; and I hear that from companies on a global basis is that, that’s a very strong hiring practice that we are adopting also.”
