Gay Bar Apologizes For Flying ‘Blue Lives Matter’ Flag For Cops’ Meeting
Amber Randall
Civil Rights Reporter
A Washington, D.C., bar was forced to apologize Saturday for hanging up a “Blue Lives Matter” flag outside its establishment after facing a backlash of anger.
Nellie’s Sports Bar displayed a pro-police flag at their restaurant because a group of gay police officers held a meeting there,
reports Fox 5 DC. The blue flag angered some people who claimed it was offensive to the Black Lives Matter movement and represented “anti blackness.”
“Nellie’s Sports Bar is cancelled. In the wake of the murder of Stephon Clark and non indictment of the officers who killed Alton Sterling, they have the audacity to fly a flag that tells us they don’t value Black lives,” NoJusticeNoPride noted over Facebook.
Other people expressed similar views, with one woman calling the flag “abhorrent.”
Nellie’s said they had flown the flag to try to support the gay cops who wanted to meet there. The sports bar eventually apologized for flying the flag, promised “learn from this” and trying to make their bar a “welcoming space” for everyone.
“We now understand that flying this flag — at this point in time, in particular — was at best tone deaf, and at worst offensive. We sincerely apologize to our customers and our neighbors for this egregious mistake, and want to assure you that this flag will never fly at Nellie’s again. What it represents to you is not what we want to represent, or what we want our bar to be,” the D.C. establishment said in a statement posted to Facebook.