Posted on 03/15/2014 8:34:48 AM PDT by raccoonradio
The fight over Southie’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade got frosty yesterday, with Boston Beer Co. pulling its longtime sponsorship from the parade over the organizers’ refusal to let gay veterans march — and one Southie bar fighting back with a vow to boycott the brew.
“Sam Adams doesn’t support South Boston. They don’t want to support veterans like my father and uncle, so they can go sell their beer elsewhere,” said Tommy Flaherty Jr., a lifelong Southie resident whose father and uncle own the landmark Cornerstone Pub & Restaurant on West Broadway.
Flaherty Jr. said he and his father, Thomas Flaherty Sr., 70, and his uncle John Flaherty, 81, were “taken aback” when they learned yesterday afternoon from reading bostonherald.com that the brewing behemoth pulled its sponsorship, so they decided not to sell Sam Adams indefinitely.
“(Boston Beer Co. has) no problem taking the money from the people drinking at the bars along the parade route,” Flaherty Jr. said, adding he has no qualms with gay people. “We serve to everybody. I don’t have a problem with gay people, nor do my father and uncle.”
Boston Beer Co. could not be reached last night for comment on Cornerstone’s boycott. Representatives of the beer company — until yesterday listed as a “proud sponsor” on the parade’s website — have marched in past years, but announced yesterday morning they will not participate this year because the organizer, Allied Veterans War Council, is refusing to change its longtime policy of banning anyone from marching under a gay-rights banner.
“We have been participating in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade for nearly a decade,” Boston Beer Co. said in a statement. “We were hopeful that both sides of this issue would be able to come to an agreement that would allow everyone, regardless of orientation, to participate in the parade. But given the current status of the negotiations, we realize this may not be possible.”
The flap came after other supporters, including Westin Hotels and Gillette, distanced themselves from the parade. Yesterday, the parade’s website — which had featured dozens of business backers — erased its sponsorship page and replaced it with a message saying, “We’re updating our sponsors, thank you for your patience.”
Mayor Martin J. Walsh said last night he was “still hopeful” a deal can be made.
“We’ve gotten pretty close to an agreement here, and I think a lot of people thought this was the year we were going to have an agreement,” Walsh said. “I’m not giving up on that hope, we still have some time left. ... I have a glimmer of hope that we’re going to be able to work something out.”
As for Boston Beer Co. pulling its sponsorship, the mayor said, “They made a policy decision there, and I commend them for it.”
” for all you Southie Rats my Ford truck had the “God Votes Republican Sign” in the back window.”
I drive an F150 in Hollywood with FUBO at the back. Anyone who asks what FUBO stands for I just tell them “figure it out”...
Heuf cocracka!
Guinness pulls sponsorship of New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Published March 17, 2014
FoxNews.com
What’s a St. Patrick’s Day parade without Guinness? The organizers of New York City’s annual march down Fifth Avenue are about to find out.
The makers of the popular Irish beer announced over the weekend that they pulled their sponsorship of the parade due to organizers’ longstanding rule against gay and lesbian groups marching openly.
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