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Sporting Witness: The NFL's Rooney Rule

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04/02/2021 GMT

The NFL's Rooney Rule

BBC World Service - Sporting Witness, The NFL's Rooney Rule

The activist and champion who pushed for American football's landmark diversity policy

How civil rights activist and former NFL champion John Wooten campaigned for American football's landmark diversity policy

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)

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