Adrian Peterson on Redskins Removing Monument of Former Racist Owner
Written by SOURCE on June 20, 2020
NFL legend and current Washington Redskins running back, Adrian Peterson, supports the decision to remove a monument dedicated to one of the team’s past racist owners.
“It makes me feel good,” Peterson told TMZ. He added that this monument and similar statues are put up in an effort to impact the minority psyche.
“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 and are part of the solution to keep the minorities and blacks, colored people down,” he continued.
Events DC—which is in charge of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium—removed the statue of former Redskins owner, George Preston Marshall, from in front of the facility on Friday morning.
The chairman of the Events DC board of directors, Max Brown, and the president and CEO, Greg O’Dell, released a joint statement explaining their motives.
“This symbol of a person who didn’t believe all men and women were created equal and who actually worked against integration is counter to all that we as people, a city, and nation represent,” the statement said. “We believe that injustice and inequality of all forms is reprehensible and we are firmly committed to confronting unequal treatment and working together toward healing our city and country.”
Marshall was the owner of the Redskins since the team’s establishment in Boston in 1932 until his death in 1969. Marshall didn’t believe in the integration of sports and was forced to integrate his team in the early 1960s. Still, he didn’t objectively seek out the best players due to his racism.
As a result, fans vandalized the statue, which was at the Redskins’ former stadium. But removing the monument only meets half of the demands. The vandals made it explicitly clear that they would also like the name of the team changed. Events DC is not in charge of any team activities, but this is an on-going topic that has been reignited due to current events. Since it seems like the team won’t address its derogatory moniker, protesters might have to channel their inner Marcus Peters because it looks like they “ain’t done yet.”
