The Washington Redskins did what was long overdue on Friday, removing the monument in front of RFK Stadium that memorialized former team owner George Preston Marshall, a historically racist owner who fought against integration in the NFL for years.
While public outcry led to the removal, some are showing appreciation to the Redskins for listening to people who wanted the monument gone. One of those people is veteran running back Adrian Peterson, who told TMZ that he very much approved of getting rid of the former team owner’s controversial presence at both RFK Stadium, and Fed Ex Field.
“It makes me feel good,” Peterson said. “Obviously, in different states all over this country, you’ve got monuments, buildings and stuff and statues that are named after people that owned slaves, people that were racists. It just shows that God is watching over us, to be able to get to a point now where they are removing some of these statues and trying to pave a new way.”
Not only was the monument to Marshall removed, but on Saturday, the Redskins announced that his name would be removed from the lower bowl at Fed Ex Field, being replaced by the name of Bobby Mitchell, a HOF wide receiver who was the first African-American player in team history, as well as the first Black executive in the NFL. Mitchell also had his jersey No. 49 retired on Saturday, making him only the second player in franchise history — next to Sammy Baugh — to have his jersey retired.
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