Missouri bar criticized after using NFL jerseys as doormat

A Missouri bar has sparked outrage after combining Marshawn Lynch and Colin Kaepernick’s jerseys in a doormat that appeared to spell out a racist message.

The shirts of the NFL anthem protesters were taped to each other so read together it said: ‘Lynch Kaepernick’.

The owner of SNAFU bar, Jason Burle, insisted that their was no ill-intent involved in the decision and that it wasn’t a ‘race thing,’ according to KOMU. 

 

An image of the two jerseys taped side-by-side. The bar owner, Jason Burle, taped them so that it read ‘Lynch Kaepernick’ 

Jason later switched the order of the jerseys after criticism and said the doormat is about respect for the American flag and him disagreeing with NFL players that choose to kneel during the anthem

Jason later switched the order of the jerseys after criticism and said the doormat is about respect for the American flag and him disagreeing with NFL players that choose to kneel during the anthem

He said: ‘If someone thinks that I mean personal harm to someone, they don’t know me.’ 

He ordered the jerseys after NFL players started kneeling during the National Anthem.

Jason said the doormat is about standing up for himself and his family who served in the military. 

The bar owner, Jason Burle. He said that he meant no ill-intent with the jersey doormat 

The bar owner, Jason Burle. He said that he meant no ill-intent with the jersey doormat 

A picture of SNAFU bar in Lake Ozark, Missouri. The bar received criticism for its doormat when a bystander saw the jerseys and had a heated conversation with the bar owner about it

A picture of SNAFU bar in Lake Ozark, Missouri. The bar received criticism for its doormat when a bystander saw the jerseys and had a heated conversation with the bar owner about it

Burle spent six years in the Air Force and seeing NFL players kneel during the national anthem didn’t sit well with him, according to KOMU. 

He said: ‘A lot of us military folks take that personal to heart.’

But one bystander took the doormats personally. 

Taylor Sloan saw the doormats outside the bar and it instantly upset him.  

‘That’s not the Missouri I know,’ he said. 

‘It just kind of upset me really bad. Put a bad taste in my mouth.’

Taylor even posted on the bar’s Facebook page explaining that Jason was expressing hate, violence and racism. 

The heated exchange continued and Jason responded saying that he was looking too deeply into the doormats to find a racist link.   

Taylor said in his conversation on Facebook that he didn’t think Jason saw the problem with placing ‘Lynch’ and ‘Kaepernick’ back-to-back, according to KOMU.  

Taylor said: ‘If he honestly didn’t see that, he should change it.’

Jason has switched the order of the jerseys and said the doormat is about respect for the American flag and him disagreeing with NFL players that choose to kneel during the anthem. 

Jason disagrees with the NFL players decision to kneel during the National Anthem and said he took it 'personal to heart'

Jason disagrees with the NFL players decision to kneel during the National Anthem and said he took it ‘personal to heart’

‘I commend them for what they’re doing, as far as the right goes. I fought for that right,’ Jason told KOMU. 

‘The same thing that gives them that right gives me the right to place these out here.’

The NFL controversy began when President Trump called for fans to boycott the NFL in a series of tweets.

Colin Kaepernick (right) and Eric Reid (left) of the San Francisco 49ers kneel on the sideline, during the anthem, prior to the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi Stadium on January 1, 2017 in Santa Clara, California 

Colin Kaepernick (right) and Eric Reid (left) of the San Francisco 49ers kneel on the sideline, during the anthem, prior to the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi Stadium on January 1, 2017 in Santa Clara, California 

He said fans should stop going to games until players stop ‘disrespecting our flag and country’.

Colin Kaepernick was the first to catapult into headlines when he protested police violence against minorities by kneeling during the National Anthem last season. 

Players defiantly reacted to President Donald Trump’s criticism, with more than 100 kneeling, sitting linking arms, giving black power salutes and not even showing up for the national anthem out of protest and solidarity. 

Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch leaves the field following the game against the Washington Redskins on September 24, 2017, at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. He was one of the NFL players who sat for the National Anthem 

Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch leaves the field following the game against the Washington Redskins on September 24, 2017, at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. He was one of the NFL players who sat for the National Anthem 

On Wednesday, the president hinted that the NFL could collapse if team owners don’t heed his demand to insist players stand for the pre-game National Anthem.

‘The NFL has to change,’ he told reporters at the White House.

‘Or you know what’s going to happen? their business is going to go to hell.’

Some members of the Oakland Raiders sit on the bench during the National Anthem before an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins on Sunday, September 24, 2017

Some members of the Oakland Raiders sit on the bench during the National Anthem before an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins on Sunday, September 24, 2017

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