John Stone is a Packers fan living in Chicago. Up until yesterday, he worked at Webb Chevrolet in south suburban Oak Lawn. When he showed up for work yesterday wearing a green and yellow Green Bay tie, his boss, Jerry Roberts, told him he could take it off or he was fired. I guess no one told Roberts that spring training is only a month away.

As the title indicates, Stone chose to stick with the tie and Roberts told Stone to stick it. While losing your job because of a harmless tie is ridiculous, its not quite as ridiculous as the origin of Stone’s Packers’ fandom. Stone grew up in Chicago and didn’t become a Packers fan until “he first saw former running back Ahman Green play.” I’ll give you a minute. That makes him a Packers fan since 2000 at the earliest.

“I liked the way he played, and I liked Brett Favre before he left, and I love Aaron Rodgers, the coaching staff — the whole organization,” he said.

While Stone likely prepares for a lawsuit, we have to wonder if he deserved to be fired. Roberts says that Stone was “salting the wounds” and basically making it harder for hurt fans to sell cars. On top of that the dealership has actual ties with the Bears. Chicago announcer Jeff Joniak and several players drive loaners from Webb. And then there’s the matter of the dealership spending $20,000 a month advertising with the Bears.

So while my knee-jerk reaction was to rant about how ridiculous it is for someone to be fired for wearing a tie, I kind of get the feeling that everyone involved is a jerk. Of course, there’s always a possibility that this is a publicity stunt. I think they tried the same thing in The Goods.

[Chicago Sun-Times, Images via Getty]