Report: George Preston Marshall to Be Removed from Washington Ring of Fame

Washington will remove George Preston Marshall's name from its Ring of Fame, according to ESPN's John Keim. 

Marshall helped found the franchise, which started as the Boston Braves in 1932. He remained the owner until his death in 1969.

Under his watch, Washington was the last NFL team to integrate when it acquired Bobby Mitchell from the Cleveland Browns in 1962.

A monument to Marshall was also recently removed outside of the team's former home RFK Stadium—a decision made by Events DC, not the team.

Calls for Washington to formally distance itself from Marshall have been ongoing for years, but the widespread protests against systemic racism and social inequality across the country and the world have brought more attention to the cause.

The Minnesota Twins removed a statue of former owner Calvin Griffith because of his documented history of racist comments.

Washington's resistance to integration underscored Marshall's attitudes.

"We'll start signing Negroes when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing whites," he once said.

The Washington Post's William Gildea wrote Marshall finally added a Black player only after receiving significant criticism from Post sports editor Shirley Povich and a threat from the Kennedy administration that the team may not be able to use RFK Stadium.

The venue was on land leased to the franchise from the National Park Service, which meant Washington had to adhere to the government's anti-discrimination policy.

Washington announced on June 20 it plans to retire Mitchell's No. 49 jersey and name the lower level of FedExField after the Hall of Famer. Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith noted the lower level had previously been named in honor of Marshall.