California and New York AGs launch investigation into NFL workplace practices

The attorneys general of California and New York have launched an investigation into the NFL, probing allegations that the league facilitates a hostile work environment with potential violations of pay equity and anti-discrimination laws.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James have opened a joint investigation, Bonta’s office said in a news release, and began issuing subpoenas Thursday to the NFL seeking relevant information.

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

The probe follows allegations by female former employees of gender discrimination and retaliation for complaints made to human resources, Bonta’s office said, as well as multiple lawsuits filed in California in recent years alleging sexual harassment as well as workplace discrimination based on age, sex, gender and race.

One such lawsuit cited by the attorneys general was recently filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Jennifer Love, the former director of NFL Enterprises LLC, who alleged “pervasive sexism” in the workplace and claimed she was laid off last year as retaliation for her complaints to human resources.

Bonta in an interview with The Sacramento Bee said the investigation is “focused on the NFL as an entity.” No specific teams are being investigated at this time or have been issued subpoenas in the two states’ probe, he said.

“But we will go where the facts take us,” Bonta said Thursday.

The NFL in a statement Thursday said it would “fully cooperate with the attorneys general.”

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

“The NFL is committed to ensuring all employees of the league are respected, treated fairly, and have equitable pay and access to developmental opportunities. Our policies are intended not only to comply with all applicable laws but to foster a workplace free from harassment, intimidation and discrimination. We take these matters seriously and will fully cooperate with the attorneys general.”

Complaints include “reports and allegations of abuse perpetrated by both players and male staff,” Bonta’s office said in Thursday’s news release.

Allegations by more than 30 former NFL employees were detailed by the New York Times in February 2022, and include multiple claims of a hostile workplace dating back at least as far as 2014, in the aftermath of the NFL’s handling of the suspension of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice.

There is no specific time frame being examined in the newly launched investigation, according to Bonta.

“We’re focusing on allegations of past and ongoing workplace discrimination by the NFL against its employees,” Bonta told The Bee. “That’s why we’re focusing on the New York main headquarters (and) the California headquarters.”

The NFL’s main headquarters is in New York City. NFL Media, which encompasses NFL Network and NFL.com as well as other league-owned media entities, is based in Inglewood.

In April 2022, New York AG James led a coalition of six states’ attorneys general that sent a letter to the NFL calling on the league to address gender-based discrimination and hostile workplace culture.

California was not part of that coalition at that time, but Bonta said that as the inquiry “proceeded and advanced,” the need for the state to become involved and use its independent subpoena power to investigate allegations involving the NFL’s California office became clear.

“No person should ever have to endure harassment, discrimination or objectification in the workplace,” James said Thursday. “No matter how powerful or influential, no institution is above the law, and we will ensure the NFL is held accountable.”

The investigation also comes in the wake of last year’s congressional inquiry into allegations of workplace misconduct by Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder.

The U.S. Congressional Committee on Oversight and Reform in a report last December condemned the NFL’s handling of “sexual harassment, bullying and other toxic conduct” that “pervaded the Commanders workplace,” concluding that the “NFL aligned its legal interests with the Commanders, failed to curtail these abusive tactics, and buried the (NFL’s internal) investigation’s findings.”

Bonta told The Bee that allegations detailed in media reports, lawsuits and the congressional report into the Washington Commanders have all contributed to the decision to open the investigation.

“It’s all part of the same group of allegations that have led us to be concerned, disturbed and prompted us to take independent action,” he said.

James and Bonta said the league employs more than 1,000 people between its New York and California offices.

“No matter how powerful or influential, no institution is above the law, and we will ensure the NFL is held accountable,” James said in a statement.