“My future was going to be in the United States,” he said. The league managed to get a handful of late-season and playoff games televised – on ESPN’s networks in 2014, on Fox’s networks the other three years. Until Rooney’s diversity committee came up with the Rooney rule in 2003, those candidates were almost always white. urally, he surpassed my high expectations, and I know the people of Ireland think fondly of him today.