Sources: MLS cuts ‘Rooney Rule’ hiring policies

Major League Soccer has drastically altered its hiring policy around front office and coaching positions by eliminating its minority interview requirements and many of the enforcement mechanisms surrounding those mandates, multiple sources tell ESPN.

The league’s hiring policy, which was formerly called the “MLS diversity hiring policy,” is now known as “MLS advance policy.”

The revised policy is more decentralized — meaning teams can craft their own hiring practices, with little oversight by the league office.

MLS’s version of the Rooney Rule — a name borrowed from the NFL’s minority hiring initiative — was first implemented in 2007, and was then updated with much fanfare in 2021.

It’s intention was to give more opportunities to minority candidates to interview for technical positions with the league’s teams, including GMs, assistant GMs, managers and assistant coaches. That exposure, it was hoped, would lead to more minority hires.

The 2021 revision was also intended to increase the policy’s efficacy, and add a focus on the interviewing of Black candidates and strengthen the policy’s enforcement mechanisms. It specifically mandated that the finalist pool for an open technical position — defined as a coaching or front office position — include two or more non-white candidates, one of whom must be Black/African American. Teams that didn’t adhere to the policy could be fined.

Those requirements have now been eliminated. According to MLS, what has emerged is a policy whereby teams will now set their own guidelines in terms of the process for how they hire for technical and front office positions.

Clubs must also form a committee to manage the interview process, and must also identify a person in senior leadership who will be responsible for implementing the club’s hiring policy. Clubs have signed an affidavit — much like they do in following the league’s roster rules — ensuring they would take these steps. MLS insists the aim is to help minority candidates early in the interview process as opposed to just checking a box at the end.

The new policy would appear to provide less transparency around how clubs hire personnel. Not only do the teams’ guidelines not require league approval, but clubs are also no longer required to disclose what individuals were considered finalists for a position.

When asked how he could be sure that minority candidates would be interviewed, MLS EVP chief engagement officer Sola Winley referenced the competitive nature of clubs, and said they would be incentivized to recruit the best candidates, which would include minorities.

“If clubs are going to design a process where they’re going to have a limited circle of candidates, I’m not sure that it’s going to give them the best chance to compete,” he said.

“Some clubs may do that, but clubs are in a posture of competing for the best players and they’re competing for the best talent. So they need to have a process and practice in place that’s going to allow them to cast the widest net possible [for technical personnel].”

In terms of enforcement, Winley pointed to MLS commissioner Don Garber as having the authority to sanction teams for not adhering to the new policy.

The circumstances under which the commissioner would get involved appear to be limited, however, given the revised policy has fewer mandates than in the past.

“The league’s posture is not to be the compliance police, but to be service oriented and supportive of our clubs to make sure that they can compete at the highest level and that this enterprise can continue to grow. The growth doesn’t come through compliance,” Winley told ESPN.

“We feel comfortable that our compliance is solid, that the clubs have to sign off on it. They have to identify an executive level leader who’s going to represent that work. And we do that in the spirit of cooperation and trust with our clubs.”

That trust hasn’t always been repaid by clubs in the past, with the LA Galaxy and Inter Miami CF among those who have been found guilty of violating the league’s roster rules. In 2022, D.C. United was fined for not adhering to the league’s hiring policy.

Black Players For Change, and advocacy group for Black soccer players in North America, issued the following statement regarding the policy change.

“Black Players for Change remains steadfast in driving progress and deepening our commitment to equity at the highest levels. Make no mistake, our work continues with a fortified resolve, as we advocate for the next generation of Black coaches and executives, ensuring their brilliance is not just seen but championed across MLS and the broader American soccer landscape.”

The policy will now extend beyond the soccer side of the organization, and be applied to a club’s business hires as well.

Evan Whitfield, a U.S. Olympian in soccer, former Chicago Fire FC defender, and former VP of equity, alumni relations and diversity with the Fire, is critical of the change.

“Four years later, it seems that commissioner Garber and the league’s appetite for inclusivity has waned,” Whitfield, who is Black, said.

Whitefield is also part of the Humans Rights Soccer Alliance, an organization advocating for equity, inclusion and legacy around the 2026 World Cup.

“The lack of diversity at the senior coaching level and front offices remains stark,” he said.

“It is disappointing that the MLS has dropped its Diversity Hiring Policy and eviscerated its other programs, including MLS Advance. The number of Black and Latino coaches speaks for itself, as does the list of candidates seriously considered for open positions. Of course, Sola Winley will champion the number of coaches of color given opportunities in MLS junior division, but he likely will not explain why melanated coaches require this introductory step when white male coaches are given first team chance after chance to achieve the typical level of mediocrity.”

On Friday, MLS said they will be adding additional programming in 2026 for players to join leadership ranks upon retirement.

Sources confirmed to ESPN that an MLS advance committee comprised of some owners drove the changes, in conjunction with a working group of league executives, league staff, club chief business officers, team chief soccer officers and club heads of human resources. The new policy was presented to the league’s board of directors in April, and approved by the board — outside the setting of a formal meeting — in May.

On Friday, MLS said that the working group drove the changes.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has applied heavy pressure on businesses and universities to eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs.

The conservative legal group, America First Legal, which was co-founded by Stephen Miller, who currently serves as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and the United States Homeland Security Advisor, has filed over 100 legal actions against what he calls “woke” companies and others, according to the New York Times.

One of those actions is against the NFL for its DEI policies. Eight NFL owners also own teams in MLS.

When asked if the current political climate played any role in the decision to modify the league’s hiring policy, Winley denied that was the case, stating that the policy had been reviewed every year since it was revised in 2021. He said the current review process began in the spring of 2024, which predates Trump’s second term as president. An MLS spokesperson said the league hadn’t been contacted by America First Legal.

Given that only six months have elapsed since the new policy was approved, the effects of the Board’s vote have yet to be fully felt.

At present, MLS has three Black managers — the same as when the policy was modified in 2021, and all born abroad — and four Latino/Hispanic managers.

This represents 10% and 13.3% of the managerial pool, respectively. (Four managerial positions are unfilled at present.)

When the pool of technical positions is expanded to include GMs and assistant coaches, the percentage of Black coaches and executives shrinks to 7.8% while the percentage of Latino/Hispanic coaches and executives is 16.7%.

In 2021, MLS said it had an equitable representation of Hispanic/Latino coaches relative to its player pool (30%), while the MLS Black player pool was 25% — yet only 7% of assistant coaches and 10% of head coaches were Black.

“I feel good about where we are,” Winley said. “I feel good about the progress that we’ve made and that we’ll continue to make. But there is still work to do.”