Marshall received attention for an attempted touchdown celebration during the Broncos' 34–30 comeback road victory over the Cleveland Browns in a Thursday Night Football matchup on November 6, 2008. With over a minute left in the game, Marshall caught the go-ahead touchdown pass and then began to pull a glove from his pants. Denver wide receiver Brandon Stokley rushed over to Marshall to urge him to put the glove away, as it could be considered a touchdown celebration prop, which is against NFL rules (a 15-yard penalty on the kickoff could be assessed). Marshall later explained that he was intending to put on the glove (which was white with one half of it painted black) as a means to honor racial progress and unity in the United States, following the country electing Barack Obama as President two days earlier. Regarding the attempted touchdown celebration, Marshall said, "I know at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised that black glove and that fist as a silent gesture of black power and liberation. Forty years later, I wanted to make my own statement. I wanted to make my own statement and gesture to represent the progress we made." Smith and Carlos didn't initially see Marshall's attempted gesture when it happened live, but both said they appreciated and understood Marshall's intent. "He wanted to make a mark in history and feel that he was a part of the change for the better," Smith said. "He had the right idea in terms of what he was attempting to do," Carlos said.