Chili’s honors servicemen past and present by giving them free meals on Veteran’s Day. What was supposed to be a tribute, turned into a horrific and embarrassing incident for a black army vet as his food was taken away by a Chili’s manager in Dallas. Now, Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban is ready to give him so much more.
Ernest Walker, a U.S. Army veteran was confronted by an elderly man wearing a Donald Trump shirt who took note of Walker’s uniform and told him that they didn’t let blacks serve in Germany and that Walker wasn’t a real veteran. The Trump supporter then exchanged words with the manager who came over to Walker and asked him for proof of his service. Walker later noted that he purchased another uniform after his service and does not wear a name tag or rank as to not be confused with somebody on active duty. He did, however, provide proof to the manager that he did serve, but the manager still took his food away and questioned the legitimacy of his service dog.
Walker recorded the latter part of the incident on his phone and posted it on his Facebook account. His story went viral, prompting Chili’s to address the situation. The restaurant issued an apology and sent out generic responses about an investigation but it’s still unclear if the manager suffered any consequences for his inexcusable behavior.
While they haven’t offered Walker anything yet, Mark Cuban has stepped up to the plate. Here’s what he’s offering:
— 2 season tickets to the Dallas Mavs games for the rest of the season
— 10 bonus tickets to Wednesday night’s game so Walker can bring 10 more vets!
— 10 bonus tickets to most Mavs home games to give out to other vets and people in need
— Cuban agreed to donate money to Ernest’s campaign to feed 1 million soldiers
TMZ Sports spoke to Walker who says he’s pumped about the offer and expressed his gratitude to Cuban when they talked on the phone earlier Wednesday.
