But The Business Owner Tells A Different Story

Eddie Bryant is a decorated, disabled combat veteran from both the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, having been presented with a Purple Heart and ARCOM (Army Commendation Medal) with Valor. He is also an avid skydiver, according to his blog "My Life, My Adventures" with over 300 jumps to his credit. He lives in Ohio.

Bryant has a tattoo on the back of his right leg. He says it is an Arabic term that translates to "unbeliever", "misbeliever," or "infidel". He says that it refers to a person who does not accept God according to Muslim doctrine, or who hides, covers, or denies the "truth."

In a recent post, Bryant relates a story of a trip to Florida to jump at Florida Skydiving Center / Skydive Lake Wales. At the same time as his visit, there were, according to his blog, soldiers from Qatar training at the drop zone.

Bryant says that the Muslims complained to the owner of the business about his tattoo, who then called him into her office and asked him to cover up the tattoo. He says that it was warm, and he did not have long pants to cover up the tattoo with him in any case. He says she asked him to cover it with duct tape. When he refused, he claims she asked him to leave.

But on the Skydive Lake Wales Facebook page, owner Betty Hill writes that Bryant was not asked to leave. She did say that she suggested that he might cover the tattoo with tape, including duct tape, but that he then said "maybe I'll go over to Tampa Bay or somewhere to jump." Hill said that was his choice, and that he then left the office. She said that nothing else was said until she began to receive "slanderous phone calls," and a social media campaign against the business began.

The Facebook page has many messages of support for the skydiving business, while the comments on Bryant's blog run just as strongly in support of the veteran and against the company. Both are linked below.

FMI: Blog Post, Facebook Page