A Missouri bar owner is receiving praise and criticism, for turning the jerseys of two well-known NFL national anthem protesters into doormats at his establishment. While some love the display, others say it may be seen as encouraging violence.
Jason Burle, owner of the SNAFU bar, made news for duct taping the jerseys of both Oakland Raider Marshawn Lynch and San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick to the ground outside his Lake Ozark, Missouri, establishment, according to the Associated Press.
However, the original placement of the jerseys caused some to wonder just what the bar owner was trying to say.
Initially, Burle placed Lynch’s jersey on the ground before adding Kaepernick’s to its right. The effect caused some to read the names as “Lynch Kaepernick,” a reading that caused viewers to think the bar owner may have been encouraging violence against the former San Francisco 49er.
Burle hastened to switch the placement and insisted he was making no other statement than that he disagreed with the two players’ political positions and was not advocating violence.
“We pulled them out of the box, taped them down. There was no ill-intent,” Burle told KOMU Channel 8.
“If someone thinks that I mean personal harm to someone, they don’t know me,” Burle added.
The bar owner also said that his display had no racial component. “A lot of people want to twist it around to be a race thing,” Burle complained.
Burle insisted that as a military veteran his only message is that he disagrees with millionaire players kneeling as the national anthem is played.
“A lot of us military folks take that personal to heart,” the bar owner said.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.