As a result of a "gentlemen's agreement" promoted by Marshall, NFL teams did not sign black players until 1946, when 2 teams broke the agreement. Marshall refused to do so, claiming that integrating the team would cause the team to lose fans in the Southern United States and the team was at the time the southernmost team in the NFL. He said that "We'll start signing Negroes when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing whites."
On a television show, Oscar Levant asked Marshall if he was anti-Semitic. He responded: "Oh no, I love Jews, especially when they're customers."