The owner of a bar in Lake of the Ozarks exercised the same free speech rights that players all over the NFL are supposedly kneeling to defend, and is now being labeled a “racist” for it. Owner and Air Force veteran Jason Burle decided to add some creative flair to the S.N.A.F.U. bar’s entrance by taping the jerseys of Colin Kaepernick and Marshawn Lynch to the ground so customers could use them as a doormat.
According to KOMU, one of the passerby saw the “Lynch” “Kaepernick” jerseys and concluded that Burle was deliberately sending a racist message.
“You are also expressing hate, violence and continuing American racism under the faux guise of patriotism,” Taylor Sloan said to Burle in an online exchange in which he complained that the bar owner was intentionally calling for violence against black anthem protesters. Seeing the jerseys on the ground “kind of upset me really bad,” said Sloan. “Put a bad taste in my mouth.”
But Burle said the jerseys-as-a-doormat decorative choice had nothing to do with racism and everything to do with respecting the country so many have died defending.
“It’s funny to me that someone would look that far deeply into it just to find a racist link,” said Burle in response to Sloan’s accusation. “It’s not a race thing,” said Burle, who ordered the jerseys in response to NFL players “taking a knee” on Sunday. “If someone thinks that I mean personal harm to someone, they don’t know me.”
“A lot of us military folks take that personal to heart,” said Burle, who served in the Air Force for six years. The jersey protest “was kind of our way to give back, I guess. We give discounts to veterans, we have a hall of heroes inside. We have flags that have flown overseas mounted inside.”
Inside the bar, KOMU notes, Burle has what he calls a “hall of heroes,” including photos of his own relatives as well as those of customers.
As for all the players refusing to stand for the anthem, Burle said he “commends” them for exercising their right to express themselves, but noted that the “same thing that gives them that right gives me the right to place these out here.”
Though Burle continues to keep the two jerseys as doormats, he did decide to switch the order of them to avoid the “Lynch Kaepernick” interpretation. Here’s the photo he took (via KOMU):
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