Man allegedly loses job for sitting during anthem
A Tennessee man sat during the national anthem this weekend, and he claims that he lost his job because of it.
Tyler Chancellor had only been working for 9Round, a kickboxing gym in Chattanooga, for a little more than a week before the owner fired him. Chancellor said the owner told him outright that it was because he’d stayed seated during the national anthem after being invited to sit with his coworkers in the VIP section of the Camp Jordan arena Saturday.
“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 said.
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“I wasn’t the only one sitting down,” he added. “There were other minorities in the stands sitting down.”
While no one said anything to him on Saturday, Chancellor said the owner pulled him aside on Monday to let him know that his employment there was terminated.
“She said because you sat down, you were a part of a 9Round event, and you sat during the national anthem,” Chancellor said. “We no longer want to continue business with you. There was no sugar coating.”
However, Chancellor can’t do anything legally about the termination, because Tennessee has ‘at will’ laws that allow employers to terminate employees for any reason. Still, Chancellor said he doesn’t regret the decision.
