Talk about a bad workplace.

An Illinois car dealership fired a salesman for wearing a Green Bay Packers tie to work on Monday, the day after the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears to advance to the Super Bowl.

Can you believe that?

Media outlets across the country told the tale of John Stone, and the dealership’s general manager became inundated with calls supporting and opposing the decision, according to news reports.

The manager offered Stone his job back. The man refused to accept the job back and took a job with a different dealership.

The manager said he told the salesman five times in a half hour to remove the tie before firing him. The Chicago Tribune wrote the “dealership and the Bears’ radio network have been promotional partners for years, and he thought Stone was trying to antagonize his co-workers and customers by wearing a Packers tie the day after they beat the Bears in the NFC championship game.”

Stone said he wore the tie to honor his late grandmother, a Packers fan.

Here is our commentary: Most workplaces find the back-and-forth of sports rivalries bring levity to the day-to-day grind. Smart managers allow their employees to express their NFL preferences. Happy workers are better workers. Even though the dealership had a Bears partnership, by dismissing the man, the manager made the dealership look like a poor sport. By playing up the Bears-Packers rivalry, even in front of customers, the manager would have reflected well upon the dealership.