Sporting Witness
Sporting Witness
The NFL's Rooney Rule
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February 4, 2021
10 minutes
Available for over a year
In 2003, the NFL introduced a landmark diversity policy requiring American football teams to interview ethnic minority candidates for positions as head coaches or general managers. Known as the “Rooney Rule”, the policy was the result of organised pressure from black coaches and former players, led by former NFL champion, John Wooten. Initially seen as a success, the Rooney Rule has been influential not just in sport, but in the corporate world. John Wooten talks to Farhana Haider.
PHOTO: John Wooten in his playing days in the 1960s (Getty Images)