The owner of a California barbershop is apologizing after someone shared a photo of a doll depicting former NFL star Colin Kaepernick with a noose around its neck at his shop.
A man named Joseph, who asked that his last name is withheld, said a friend snapped the photo during a recent visit to the Bowtie Barbershop in Placerville where he noticed the doll hanging from the ceiling by a noose, FOX40 News reported. Joseph said he later posted the photo on social media.
“I posted it,” he said. “Because I did drive past there probably about three or four times driving down there and I [inaudible] noticed that.”
The photo sparked plenty of angry reactions.
“It’s evident that Bowtie Barber is a POS,” one critic tweeted.
“This doll had been”hanging” for two years now and NO ONE has spoken up?” wrote another. “Watched a news report on this man from 2015 and all of his clientele shown are white men … Coincidence?”
The shop’s owner, simply known as “Bowtie Barber” said he had no idea he was offending anyone.
“We have a hangman out here called ‘George’ and so, you know, with the theme of hangtown I hung him,” he explained. “And it was wrong, it was absolutely wrong.”
Barber, a well-known figure in the community, said the Kaepernick doll has been in his barbershop since 2016 when the former San Francisco 49er began kneeling during the anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality in America. The on-field protests spread across the NFL, sparking national outrage.
“I am a die hard 49ers fan and when that action happened there was a lot portrayed on the 49ers and I took it personally,” Barber told the station.
He added, “I’m publicly announcing that I apologize. It was the wrong thing for me to do. Absolutely will never happen again. I absolutely see the other side of it. I’m sorry.”
Barber said he’s since learned his lesson, but Joseph thinks his apology was too little, too late.
“Imagine how many kids already seen that doll,” he said.
“The doll has reportedly been taken down.
Watch more in the video below.
