NEW YORK — Prosecutors in New York and California launched an investigation of the NFL’s workplace culture on Thursday, issuing subpoenas to executives of one of the world’s richest sports league in search of documents related to an array of accusations that include racial discrimination and sexual harassment.
NEW YORK — Prosecutors in New York and California launched an investigation of the NFL’s workplace culture on Thursday, issuing subpoenas to executives of one of the world’s richest sports league in search of documents related to an array of accusations that include racial discrimination and sexual harassment.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, both Democrats, say they are not targeting any of the league’s 32 teams that take up so much of the country’s cultural space. Instead, their probe is focused on the league itself, specifically its corporate offices in New York and California.
The investigation is in response to what Bonta called a “robust public record” that points to a “disturbing and concerning set of allegations about gender and racial discrimination in the NFL.” That includes lawsuits filed by former employees, congressional hearings last year into the workplace practices of the Washington Commanders and a 2022 New York Times article detailing allegations of gender discrimination by more than 30 former female NFL employees.
“No one is above the law,” Bonta said in an interview with the Associated Press. “We’re gonna get to the bottom of what’s happening and if there is discrimination occurring, we’re gonna make sure we address it and that the NFL is held accountable.”
The league said it would cooperate with the investigation but called the allegations “entirely inconsistent with the NFL’s values and practices.”
“The NFL offices are places where employees of all genders, races and backgrounds thrive. We do not tolerate discrimination in any form,” league officials said in a statement.
Complaints of race and sex discrimination have dogged the NFL and individual teams. The Washington Commanders, owner Dan Snyder, the NFL and Goodell were sued by the attorney general for the District of Columbia in November for colluding to deceive fans by lying about an inquiry into “sexual misconduct and a persistently hostile work environment” within the team.
