Norwich bar changes channel on NFL protest
In support of the flag, Harp and Dragon will no longer show games
Norwich — The Norwich bar owner who declared last week that the behavior of football players during the national anthem was more important to him than football fans’ business is standing by his decision.
Scott Capano, who owns the Harp and Dragon pub with his brother and father, declined to say anything further about the Facebook post he wrote — and later deleted — declaring that his bar would no longer play National Football League games or host NFL-themed deals on Bud Light because of the family’s displeasure with players who kneel in protest during the anthem.
He issued a brief statement — “We believe anyone here in the US has a right to protest, but we don’t believe it should be directed at our flag or national anthem” — and said he doesn’t plan to change his mind.
Capano’s decision put him squarely in the ranks of those who acknowledge the rights of the players to protest, but also have no hesitation about using their own platform to launch a counter-protest by removing anything NFL-related from the bar.
The decision has brought the Harp and Dragon some unwanted attention, said Raelynn McLean, a manager at the pub.
McLean said she had answered the phone several times on Saturday to hear people from as far as Boston and New York calling the NFL boycott racist.
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More players on several NFL teams have joined a movement in the past month to kneel or link arms while the anthem is played before games, a gesture that former 49ers player Colin Kaepernick began during NFL games last year because, he said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
The movement gained steam 10 days ago after President Donald Trump got involved with a series of statements and tweets.
But the outcry didn’t seem to be affecting business at the Harp and Dragon Sunday, which McLean said was seeing more customers than on several other recent Sundays.
While hundreds of angry comments and calls to boycott the Harp and Dragon piled up on the bar’s Facebook page, some were driving to eat there in support of Capano’s stance.
“I wanted to support people who support the flag and the country,” said Charlie Nappe, who rode his motorcycle with a group of four people to the bar from West Haven Sunday after he saw information about the new policy at the Harp and Dragon.
Nappe said he agrees with Capano that players’ public statements about systemic racism in the United States should not interfere with televised observance of the national anthem.
Nappe said he believes Capano wasn’t motivated by profits.
“I don’t think he did it as a business decision,” Nappe said. “I think he did it from his heart.”
Loise DePalma of Lebanon ate lunch at the Harp and Dragon with her husband, Ron, for the first time Sunday for the same reason.
“Good for them for taking a stand in the way we’re free to do as U.S. citizens,” she said, referring to the bar.
Capano, whose family also owns several local ShopRite stores, had printed a sign with yellow letters declaring “We will no longer show anything NFL related” in yellow capital block letters over an image of the American flag and posted them throughout the bar. “Sorry for any inconvenice this may cause,” the sign said. “This is not political or race driven in any way, strictly a respect for our great country and flag that allows us to express ourselves as we wish.”
Elsewhere in the city, football fans had other options if they wanted to watch a game.
The 36 Town Grill & Tap, a bar and restaurant at the back of the Norwichtown Commons shopping center, had multiple NFL games playing on its televisions Sunday afternoon, and manager Paul Kyle said he was expecting more patrons later in the day when the Patriots-Panthers game was scheduled to begin.
“I think in this climate, it’s tough to take sides as a businessperson,” Kyle said. “We’re all inclusive,” he added.
Sean Siefert, one of the owners of Billy Wilson’s Ageing Still around the corner from the Harp and Dragon, declined to talk about whether the bar’s staff had discussed whether to play NFL games.
The Panthers-Patriots game was playing on one of the bar’s televisions at the end of the bar.
“People asked to watch the game, so I just put it on,” Siefert said.