Atlanta Falcons GM says 'work to be done' in NFL minority hiring, despite Florida AG pushback

Ian Cunningham, general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, left, watches players work out during the school's NFL football pro day, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

PHOENIX (AP) — First-year Atlanta Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said he’ll continue to push for more diversity in the NFL’s leadership positions, even after Florida’s attorney general wrote that the league’s minority hiring guidelines violate Florida state law.

Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saying the league’s 23-year-old Rooney Rule amounts to “blatant race and sex discrimination.”

“Just from my position, especially being a Black man, there’s still work to be done,” Cunningham told The Associated Press on Monday at the NFL’s league meetings. “Now that I’m in this position and have this platform, I’m going to be intentional about what we do from a grassroots effort to a director level.