Car salesman John Stone, 34, is a longtime Green Bay Packers fan who worked in Chicago Bears territory at Webb Chevrolet at 95th and Cicero. Monday was a day of mourning for Chicago fans after the team lost the NFC title to the Packs. But it was day of celebration for Stone, who wore a Green Bay Packers tie to work. His boss called that move a penalty.
"Boss called me up to the front and wanted to talk to me. Two times he told me to take the tie off or I was fired. I thought he was just joking about it. Third time he told when he came out of this meeting. He told me I was fired if I didn't take the tie off," said stone. "I looked at him like, 'Jerry ... for real?' I had even zipped my jacket up. He said, 'No! You're fired get out of my showroom.'"
Stone didn't tell his boss he was wearing the tie to honor his grandmother, Verletta Stone, who was buried last week. She was a longtime Packers fan.
The folks at Webb Chevrolet said that yes, Stone was let go for refusing to take off his Green Bay Packers tie. But they say there's more to the story.
"We have a big partnership with Bears Radio and Bears players such as Corey Wooten and we've invested a lot in partnering with the Bears and supporting our community. We didn't want to offend the customers," said Jerry Roberts, G.M. Webb Chevrolet Oak Lawn.
Roberts said Stone could have his job back- even with the tie- but Stone said his grandmother would not approve.
"I'm not going back," said Stone.
"That's his decision. We got a lot of people calling in asking to buy a car from him today," said Roberts.
Stone says he has accepted a job offer from Homewood Chevy and is looking forward to starting work there Thursday.
