Missouri bar owner crafts ‘Lynch Kaepernick’ doormat -- then claims ‘it’s not a race thing’

A Missouri bar owner is being criticized for a "Lynch Kaepernick" message posted outside his establishment.

Jason Burle, owner of the S.N.A.F.U. Bar in Lake Ozark, ordered Marshawn Lynch and Colin Kaepernick NFL jerseys, which he taped down as "doormats" in a manner that read, "Lynch Kaepernick." Burle was angry with NFL players taking a knee to bring attention to racism in policing, KOMU reports.

Former San Francisco 49er free agent Colin Kaepernick started his anthem protest in 2016 and it has been swelling in recent months.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick said when he started his civil rights protest. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

“It’s not a race thing,” SNAFU owner Burle claimed of his jersey. “A lot of people want to twist it around to be a race thing.”

Taylor Sloan, a patron who complained about the message, argued the owner was "expressing hate, violence and continuing American racism under the faux guise of patriotism."

Watch local coverage below, via KXAN.