A Tennessee man says that he was fired from his job at a local kickboxing
gym because he sat during the national anthem at a weekend event.
A local news station reports
that Tyler Chancellor, who until this week had been an employee at
the 9Round gym in Chattanooga, says that he was invited to attend an
event at the Camp Jordan arena. During the national anthem, Chancellor
chose to stay seated, in solidarity with professional athletes who kneel
during the anthem to protest against police brutality against black
Americans.
“Me being a minority in this society, I chose to stand up
for what I believe in- well not actually stand up, but sit down for what
I believe in,” Chancellor explains.
Chancellor didn’t realize that he had done anything wrong
until Monday, when his boss told him that he was being let go over his
decision to sit during the anthem.
“She said because you sat down, you were a part of a 9Round
event, and you sat during the national anthem,” Chancellor says. “We no
longer want to continue business with you. There was no sugar coating.”
