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“We recognize that we can do better and act now,” they said. “We’ve heard from many of our stakeholders in the community, and we thank you. Allowing the memorial to remain on the RFK Campus goes against Events DC’s values of inclusion and equality and is a disturbing symbol to many in the city we serve.”

The removal occurred on Juneteenth, which observes the effective end of slavery in the United States. It also follows several weeks of protests following the death of George Floyd.

Marshall owned the franchise from its inception in 1932 until his death in 1969. The team began in Boston as the Braves in 1932 and was renamed the Redskins a year later when it shared Fenway Park with the Red Sox. Marshall moved the franchise to his hometown of Washington, D.C., in 1937.

Before and after. George Preston Marshall has left RFK and Hilleast. pic.twitter.com/nCp2GF7iHA

— Denise Rucker Krepp (@kdrkrepp) June 19, 2020

But Marshall resisted efforts and pressure to integrate his roster, becoming the last NFL owner to do so in 1962. Marshall once said he would sign African American players when the Harlem Globetrotters signed white players. The Redskins were the southernmost franchise, and Marshall had their marching band play “Dixie” on the field for 23 years. The NAACP protested against Marshall at a meeting of league owners in 1957 and once picketed outside his home.

In the spring of 1961, Interior Secretary Stewart Udall started to apply pressure on Marshall to integrate his roster. Because the Redskins were going to begin play at D.C. Stadium on federally owned land that fall, Udall told Marshall that a 30-year lease would be revoked unless he added a black player. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle later got involved in trying to persuade Marshall to relent. That December, Marshall drafted black running back and Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis with the first pick.

However, it was later learned that Marshall had traded the selection to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for running back/wide receiver Bobby Mitchell, who became Washington’s first black player in 1962.

D.C. Stadium was later renamed RFK Stadium; the Redskins moved to FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, in 1997.

Marshall was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. He is also part of the Redskins’ Ring of Fame, and his name is adorned, along with other members’ names, inside the stadium. A section of seating at FedEx Field is named after Marshall. He is also included on their history wall, which is outside the locker room at their practice facility.

“Once elected, nothing in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s bylaws allows for the removal of a Hall member,” the institution said in a statement.

Marshall was considered an innovative owner in other matters, proposing along with Chicago Bears owner George Halas that forward passing be allowed anywhere beyond the line of scrimmage. Marshall also embraced television in the 1950s, helping build the Redskins’ brand in the South far beyond Washington.

The franchise’s nickname remains a point of controversy, with renewed pressure for it to be changed. The city would like the Redskins to build a new stadium in the District, but Mayor Muriel Bowser has said she wants the team to change its name.

“It’s an obstacle for us locally, but it’s also an obstacle for the federal government who leases the land to us,” Bowser told Team 980 in a recent radio interview.

The Redskins did not comment on the removal of Marshall’s statue, citing the fact that RFK is no longer under their control. Owner Dan Snyder gave all his employees the day off Friday in honor of Juneteenth.

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“I’m so glad she brought awareness to this — that’s why it’s so great, that’s why I’m trying to spread as much about this as possible so this becomes regular on Juneteenth, walk 2.5 miles to commemorate the two and a half years the slaves didn’t know they were free,” McCoy told ESPN. “This is something I’m going to continue and be glad to continue. Even when it becomes a national holiday, I’ll do even more then.”

Juneteenth celebrated the official ending of slavery when Gen. Gordon Granger read orders on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, that all slaves were free some 18 months after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863.

“Our true independence as African Americans, our true day of freedom should be celebrated nationally,” McCoy said. “Independence Day is celebrated nationally, but that envelope was not pushed since that didn’t free everybody, that wasn’t about everybody. The Emancipation Proclamation was finalized in 1863, but it wasn’t until 1865 that all slaves in Texas realized that we are free. That should be celebrated nationally.”

McCoy said the reaction to his challenge has been overwhelmingly positive. He said he believes some teammates will be with Lee in Fort Worth, but some will do the walk wherever they are, since the Cowboys’ offseason program has ended.

“With all that’s going on, I think everybody is doing their part,” he said. “This is just me trying to do my part, which is creating change. It’s time. It’s been this way for too long. We can use our voices. I’m not speaking for me. I’m not speaking for other celebrities. I’m speaking for the voices that people don’t hear. I’m speaking for the people that don’t have the platform to say what they want to say. That’s why it’s vital people are listening.”

Last week, the NFL announced the league office would observe Juneteenth and since then more than 20 teams, including the Cowboys, did the same.

“It’s better late than never, and it’s a start,” McCoy said. “Forty-seven of 50 states recognize it regionally, but it’s not a national holiday. States have pushed that through, but it’s an optional thing. It’s not pushed as a national holiday. … The NFL recognizing it and the more teams that start recognizing it, it’s just a start. I don’t think people should expect change overnight. Now the process has started. You’ve got to keep going. It’s like building a championship team. The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t all of a sudden become a championship team. It took the right coach. It took the right quarterback, putting the pieces together and then they became a championship team. It takes baby steps.”

McCoy said the public nature of George Floyd’s death as a Minnesota police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes made “people realize that had been happening and you’re just now seeing it.” He said his older children reacted more in a “here we go again” way than in a “horrific way.”

The protests that have come about since the deaths of Floyd, Breanna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have raised awareness of racism and systemic oppression.

“It’s a shame a tragedy like this had to happen for people to open eyes,” he said.

The Cowboys put out a video statement about putting an end to racial injustice, but owner and general manager Jerry Jones has not put out an independent statement yet.

“You have the players, who have their own brand, but we’re all under the umbrella of the Dallas Cowboys,” McCoy said. “The Dallas Cowboys are the most recognized franchise in the world. They can get behind it, whether it’s the players or just being in the movement, period, and showing their support. It would be great to hear a statement from the Cowboys, great to hear a statement from Jerry Jones in support of everything that’s going on. Will that get me in trouble saying that? I don’t know, but the truth is it needs to be said. The problem is people are afraid to have the conversations.”

McCoy praised coach Mike McCarthy, who gave the players the opportunity to speak during the virtual meetings.

“You can’t ask for anything better than to bring unity to your team,” McCoy said. “He didn’t do it where he was thinking, ‘I don’t need my team to be separated in order to win a championship.’ Coach McCarthy did it with the mindset of, ‘Well, shoot, my eyes weren’t even open, so the more we talk about it today, the more you bring it up, the more I can learn and the more we can do it as a unit.’ He wants the Dallas Cowboys to be the example of how we should come together and push for change. I’m so proud to be one of his players, giving us the opportunity to say what everybody needed to say. He was open and honest.”