Partly due to Redskin’s owner George Preston Marshall almost single-mindedly capitalized on and perpetuated racism (Oluo).
During the Cold War, the country’s claim of being the defender of global freedom was severely undermined by the very public civil rights battles waging in the United States. Among many other transgressions happening in the country, Marshall’s stubborn commitment to racial segregation in a uniquely American sport served to highlight the nation’s hypocrisy in its ideological battle with the Soviets. As Dave Zirin said to me, “It was embarrassing on a global propaganda scale.” Finally, after the federal government threatened to take away his stadium if he didn’t integrate, Marshall recruited the first Black player for the Washington Redskins, who took the field in 1962. Perhaps the strain of seeing a Black man wearing his beloved Redskins uniform was too much for Marshall to handle, for he suffered a major, debilitating stroke in 1963. — Mediocre, pg 207