KIDWCKED
01-25-2011, 08:03 PM
c/p from foxsports by the a/p
Updated Jan 25, 2011 1:45 PM ET
A salesman at a Chevy Dealership in suburban Chicago was fired Monday for refusing to take off his Green Bay Packers tie, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
John Stone wore the tie to work at Webb Chevrolet in Oak Lawn, Ill., to celebrate the Packers’ NFC Championship Game win over the Bears.
General Manager Jerry Roberts asked Stone to remove the tie five times, saying it might aggravate Bears fans and make it more difficult to sell cars. When Stone refused, he was fired.
“He said, ‘You have two options,’” a furious Stone said later Monday to the Chicago Sun-Times. “Remove the tie, or you’re fired.”
“When I didn’t, he said, ‘You can leave, you’re fired.’ Does that sound fair to you?”
Stone, a 34-year-old father of two who had worked at the dealership for a month and a half, said he has been a Packer fan for about a decade.
“I was just showing my love for my team and it was a nice, smart tie that matched my clothes — none of the customers minded: they had a sense of humor about it,” Stone told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Roberts defended the firing by saying that the Packers tie would have "salted the wounds" of Bears fans.
Roberts said the dealership spends $20,000 a month in radio advertising with the Bears, including a "Most Valuable Bear” award handed out after each game.
“If he loves the tie more than his job, he’s welcome to keep wearing it — elsewhere,” Roberts said.
Updated Jan 25, 2011 1:45 PM ET
A salesman at a Chevy Dealership in suburban Chicago was fired Monday for refusing to take off his Green Bay Packers tie, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
John Stone wore the tie to work at Webb Chevrolet in Oak Lawn, Ill., to celebrate the Packers’ NFC Championship Game win over the Bears.
General Manager Jerry Roberts asked Stone to remove the tie five times, saying it might aggravate Bears fans and make it more difficult to sell cars. When Stone refused, he was fired.
“He said, ‘You have two options,’” a furious Stone said later Monday to the Chicago Sun-Times. “Remove the tie, or you’re fired.”
“When I didn’t, he said, ‘You can leave, you’re fired.’ Does that sound fair to you?”
Stone, a 34-year-old father of two who had worked at the dealership for a month and a half, said he has been a Packer fan for about a decade.
“I was just showing my love for my team and it was a nice, smart tie that matched my clothes — none of the customers minded: they had a sense of humor about it,” Stone told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Roberts defended the firing by saying that the Packers tie would have "salted the wounds" of Bears fans.
Roberts said the dealership spends $20,000 a month in radio advertising with the Bears, including a "Most Valuable Bear” award handed out after each game.
“If he loves the tie more than his job, he’s welcome to keep wearing it — elsewhere,” Roberts said.