Chicago man fired for wearing Packers tie

[CJH]

Chicago man fired for wearing Packers tie

Associated Press

Updated: 01/25/2011 07:40:21 AM CST

OAK LAWN, Ill. — A Chicago man has been fired for refusing to remove the Green Bay Packers tie he wore to work the day after the Packers beat the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.

John Stone was working as a car salesman at Webb Chevrolet in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn. He says he wore the Packers tie Monday to honor his late grandmother, who was a big Green Bay fan.

But that kind of sentimentality didn't impress his boss, Jerry Roberts.

Roberts says the dealership has done promotions involving the Bears and he was afraid the tie could alienate the team's fans and make it harder to sell cars.

Roberts adds that Stone was offered five chances to take of the tie and refused to do it.

Let the lawsuit commence..........

[walleyefisher0990]

What a joke, there was a car dealership commercial all week long in central wisconsin that had both bears and packers people in it. I cant believe they would fire him for that, hopefully he takes this company to the cleaners.

[SkunkedAgain]

I wonder what would happen if my bosses new that I'm wearing my Clay Matthews Under-Roos today?!?

[auggie78]

Im guessing he is an at will employee so no payday for him. Well, maybe if he gets the same attorney as the "fountain lady."

[mrklean]

i hope he sues and wins big thats just sad a person would get first for wearing a different teams colors

[jjjohnson]

Id fire his A** too.

[CJH]

Id fire his A** too.

[LightningBG]

Yeah, he deserves to get fired. Employer have the power to dictate what their employees wear. They gave him plenty of opportunity to take it off.

What if one of your employees came to work with a tie that said "F*$^ You!"?

Schools are telling kids to turn certain shirts inside out, and they aren't even there by choice.

[ozzie]

the thing about this is the guy that fired him stated that if he had worn the tie Saturday it would have been fine but for him to wear it Monday it was not fine....that right there tells me this is not the same as wearing an offensive or obscene shirt....this is just a case of a sore loser!!!!

[walleyefisher0990]

+1

[LightningBG]

I think its a case of not wanting to pi$$ off your customers.

[ozzie]

from what was reported is that the customers he had dealt with that day thought it was funny......even so if it was ok Saturday it should have been ok Monday!!

[flipper]

It tell me that people are taking a silly game way to serious to cause someone to lose their job over which team they support.

[mrklean]

+1

[greebs]

I can see grounds for it if he was told five times to remove it and refused. Think they call that insubordination. I'm sure there will be more that comes out on this but I'm guessing his late grandmother also would have told him to not be stupid and lose your job over something like this.

what are the odds he's a big packer fan himself and is only claiming the grandma thing to gain support and sympathy. nothing wrong with cheering on your team but there's a time and a place for having a little bit of common sense.

[Steve Foss]

Some people take football WAY too seriously.

[Crm7290]

Id be more worried about telling the internet you have on clay matthews underwear.....

also Chicagoans take their Bears seriously. Packers fans are really hated, but all in good fun. The dealership would probably not lose money because of that tie, but he probably wouldn't be my salesmen of choice had I walked in their door Monday.

[ted4887]

I used to sell cars, and would do the SAME thing as this guy.

For me, it was all about conversation starters. Chances are, if a Bears fan saw that tie, they would instantly have something to talk about. It is a quick ice-breaker as far as a salesman is concerned.

However, if your boss tells you to do something, you better do it. Insubordination is definitely grounds for termination.

[Crm7290]

I do agree with you ted on that point, not really something that I thought about. You definitely have to listen to your boss even if you think its a good ice breaker.

How much does a polar bear weigh?

[zamboni]

I hate and I mean hate the Packers- but this is the most ridiculous thing ever. This is making all the rounds, and at the end of the day the biggest loser looks like the guy that fired him.

He will be getting some great job offers after the dust settles.

[klecker]

Heard he all ready has a job with a chev dealer.

[Crm7290]

klecker where did you see that?

[klecker]

On another forum.

Worded my other post wrong, sorry.

[CJH]

I can see grounds for it if he was told five times to remove it and refused. Think they call that insubordination.

I am going to play devil's advocate a little bit. If he was complying with the company dress code and his tie was not deemed vulgar/indecent (which we all know it wasn't), then the grounds for termination are dicey. If an employee is following the handbook, you can't fire them for doing so, no matter what his boss thinks. That's why larger companies have Human Resources, to prevent this type of garbage.

Hope he did get another job!!!

[Stcloudangler]

I dunno, I saw that tie on the news tonight, and it was pretty durn ugly!