Reporting by Nancy Levine Stearns, December 14, 2025
A legal group co-founded by Stephen Miller filed a federal complaint on Tuesday against the National Football League (NFL)’s San Francisco 49ers over their DEI programs.
In a letter to EEOC chief Andrea Lucas, America First Legal (AFL), a nonprofit co-founded by Miller, called for investigation into discrimination arising from the team’s DEI initiatives (diversity, equity and inclusion). The complaint names Head Coach Kyle Shanahan and says “merit is apparently tossed aside for woke ideology.”
The Miller-cofounded AFL had filed a similar complaint with the EEOC against the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this year over its DEI commitments. The Dodgers have not responded to the complaint nor changed their DEI web page. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series.
Miller’s AFL cofounder Gene Hamilton testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing in July, telling senators: “And we have made it an organizational goal to dismantle and destroy DEI.”
Most of AFL’s complaints filed against organizations for their DEI programs center on claims of discrimination against white men.
The 49ers, led by head of diversity and inclusion Christina Jefferson, “launched the first internally designed LGBTQ+ collection of any NFL team, as well as a first of its kind Black Excellence Collection and Asian and Pacific Islander Collection ‘APEX.’ The 49ers are the first NFL organization to have an LGBTQ+ employee resource group, or ERG, a voluntary group in the workplace for employees with shared identities or experiences,” reported OutSports.
Earlier this year, the NFL announced it was continuing its on-field social justice messaging for a sixth straight season, with all 32 teams featuring an end zone message of their choice at each home game throughout the season. Teams selected from four options: “End Racism,” “Stop Hate,” “Choose Love,” or “Inspire Change.” Once again, “It Takes All of Us” is stenciled in the opposite end zone for all games.
A spokesperson for the NFL messaged Impactivize in August, writing: “We’re working hand-in-hand with players, and alongside our clubs, to amplify player voices and underscore what is most important to them. For decades, the NFL and its players have been a unifying force in American culture and society that brings people of all cultures and backgrounds together to enjoy America’s most popular sport.
“This is an honor and responsibility that the league takes seriously, which is why we actively invest in off-field programs and on-field initiatives that promote unity.”
As for merit, the 49ers’ record is currently 9-4, and the team is vying for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, which “would open a path for the 49ers to play every postseason game — including the Super Bowl — at Levi’s Stadium,” reported ESPN.