State prosecutors are probing workplace discrimination at the NFL

Attorneys general in California and New York are investigating the National Football League over possible violations of pay equity and anti-discrimination laws, they announced Thursday. 

The probe comes roughly one month after a former NFL director filed an age and gender discrimination lawsuit against the league. Jennifer Love said she worked in a sexist work environment that often felt like a boys’ club, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The NFL has more than 1,000 employees across California and New York

Attorneys general from both states said they’ve subpoenaed the NFL for documents about possible violations. New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that her office will “ensure the NFL is held accountable.”

“We have serious concerns about the NFL’s role in creating an extremely hostile and detrimental work environment,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. No company is too big or popular to avoid being held responsible for their actions.”

No tolerance for discrimination

The NFL defended its workplace practices, while saying in a statement that it plans to “fully cooperate with the attorneys general.”

“These allegations are entirely inconsistent with the NFL’s values and practices,” the league said. “The NFL offices are places where employees of all genders, races and backgrounds thrive. We do not tolerate discrimination in any form.”

The NFL has a history of lawsuits and allegations centered on employee discrimination, Bonta and James said, pointing to a 2002 New York Times article that detailed how more than 30 former women who worked for the league said they had faced retaliation after filing workplace grievances. 

State prosecutors in Virginia launched a probe last year into alleged workplace misconduct by executives of the Washington Commanders. The NFL also settled a lawsuit in 2018 with a former stylist for its network, Jami Cantor, who alleged sexual harassment and workplace retaliation. 

James and other state attorneys general sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last year asking him improve workplace conditions for women employees. Bonta and James said Thursday that the NFL has not done enough since then to address the issue.