GREENVILLE, NC (WCTI/CNN) - With NFL players choosing to kneel for the national anthem, one North Carolina restaurant hoped to generate some interest with a national anthem promotion, and it backfired.
Tie Breakers sports bar offered a free appetizer for standing during the national anthem.
The promotion was advertised on Facebook and went viral almost immediately. But not in the way owner Brayom Anderson had hoped.
"I did not intend for that post to create so much controversy, turmoil throughout this community, and I apologize for that," Anderson said. "A lot of people hold their tongue, and maybe I should have held mine, you know?"
Anderson is a veteran and wanted to respect the national anthem.
Several people in the restaurant agreed with him, including Angelo Guzman.
"We should have respect for our country," Guzman said. "There's a price to pay. Some of us pay it, and some of us don't."
Only one person in the restaurant stood when the anthem was played before football games Sunday, and he declined to be interviewed. Most patrons weren't aware of the offer.
But online, the reaction was strong. One woman who opposed the promotion said, "a true patriot would never divide a group of people based on their beliefs. The owner, in my opinion, is creating division and could've found a better way to make his point."
Those on the other side of the issue, say nearly the same thing.
"I don't have a problem with the protests," Geoff Adams said. "I just think it's the wrong time to do it."
Now, Anderson just hopes for unity inside the restaurant and around the country.
"At the end of the day, when we lay down and put our heads to sleep, we are all Americans," Anderson said.
Anderson also said he plans to remove the offer from the restaurant's Facebook page.
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