NFL Commissioner Under Fire For Doubling Down On ‘Woke’ DEI Ahead Of Super Bowl

NFL fans are up in arms after Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke at his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference earlier this week. Goodell decided to double down on the league’s “woke” diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, promising to keep them in place despite President Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the presidential election last November and his efforts as commander-in-chief to eliminate those policies across the country.

A journalist asked the commissioner about Trump, which is what led to Goodell’s answer.

“In light of Trump’s White House and many companies in corporate America dismantling DEI,” the journalist then said in a clip published on X, “how has that made the NFL more steadfast? Have you had feedback from owners, corporate partners, other entities in terms of how the NFL addresses its DEI policies?”

“We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League. And we’re going to continue those efforts because we’ve not only convinced ourselves, [but] I think we’ve proven ourselves that it does make the NFL better,” the commissioner went on to say.

In 2003, the NFL adopted the “Rooney Rule,” named after the late Steelers owner Dan Rooney. For those who have never heard of it, the rule essentially states that teams are required to interview at least one “diverse” candidate for any head-coaching vacancy. The rule has expanded to include a variety of other staff positions, including coordinator and general manager.

Just a few moments later, Goodell said that he’s keeping the DEI policies around because they are “fundamental in trying to attract the best possible talent into the National Football League, both on and off the field.”

He then gave a defense of the Rooney Rule, saying, “The Rooney Rule, for us, is not — there’s no requirement to hire a particular individual on the basis of race or gender. It’s simply on the basis of looking at a — uh, uh, uh — canvas of candidates that reflect our communities.”

WATCH:

Roger Goodell on continuing the NFL’s DEI policies:

“It does make the NFL better. 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.” pic.twitter.com/cYMK6sfjI7

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 3, 2025

The responses to Goodell’s statement were definitely not anywhere near the realm of being “supportive.”

“Wow, talk about being tone-deaf,” one X user replied, practically summarizing how the rest of the commenters felt.