Pensacola News Journal: Bubba Watson to paint over General Lee

Watson said his manager informed him last week, while he was in the process of winning the Travelers Championship, that controversy surrounding the Confederate flag was escalating.

“For well over 30 years, the Confederate flag has adorned the roof of the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard tv show”, says the petition, started by Donald Covell of Coldwater, Michigan.

The Confederate flag has become a hot-button issue since nine people were killed at a predominantly black church in Charleston, S.C., on June 17.

The show was pulled because a Confederate Flag graced the famous vehicle that characters Bo Duke, Luke Duke and Daisy Duke drove around the South as rebellious lawbreaking teenagers. TV Land has since yanked off the show’s reruns from schedule.

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Watson, a two-time Masters champion who is ranked third in the world, made the announcement on Thursday on Twitter. Mississippi House Speaker, Philip Gunn, a Republican, cites his Christian faith in saying the Confederate emblem is offensive and the state needs a flag that would unify people.

In January Watson got the auto autographed by Bo Duke himself, actor John Schneider. Meanwhile, retailers including Amazon and Walmart have recently dropped selling merchandise featuring reproductions of the flag.

“I think all of Hazzard Nation understands that the Confederate battle flag is the symbol that represents the indomitable spirit of independence which keeps us makin’ our way the only way we know how”, he wrote.

Also on Thursday, NASCAR tracks asked fans to refrain from displaying the flag at facilities and events, according to a statement. Given the scope of the overreaction these past two weeks, I wonder how many will bring Confederate flags anyway out of pure defiance.

“After all of the controversy and everything, I don’t want to offend anybody”, Watson said after his second-round 68 at The Greenbrier Classic. “I will fight these people until hell freezes over, and then I will fight them on the ice”. Well, it’s a difference of opinion and I have a right to my opinion.

“You guys have to call before coming – this is the second time”, an employee at the museum told WPLG-TV reporter Todd Tongen.