Marina Tells Couple to Remove Gay Flag to End Harassment

On July 2, the couple arrived at the Dewey marina, just minutes from downtown Rehoboth. They had rented a slip for the week and were looking forward to taking friends out on their new boat. The following day, they headed into Rehoboth and purchased a rainbow windsock for the boat. On the morning of July 4th, with the windsock flying, the couple walked down to the beach.

Upon returning, they noticed a new boat had docked near them. “We heard someone on the boat say, ‘Doesn’t that rainbow sock stand for gays?,’” Hlavink said. “Then the group of men, who had obviously been drinking, started chanting, ‘Who let the Homo’s in, woof, woof, woof,’ in a parody of the popular rap song containing the lyrics “Who let the dogs out” noted Hlavink.

“We did not want things to escalate so we went inside our cabin to fix lunch,” Hlavink indicated. “We heard someone pass by our boat and say, ‘Hey, did you see my nigger, I just painted it.’”

When the men returned to the deck, they were shocked to see a black lawn jockey, hanging by the neck from the Cleo, the boat where the chanting had initiated. “We literally could not believe what we were seeing,” said Hlavink. “At this point we were becoming very nervous.”

Neither Black nor Hlavink are African-American but felt the lawn jockey was intended to intimidate them, they said. The couple explained the situation to marina manager Jim Beard. “Jim said, ‘Oh, Roger again,’” Hlavink said. “He told us he would go have a talk with Roger and if he didn’t take the lawn jockey down, he would be thrown out. Jim also told us that Roger had displayed the hanging lawn jockey before.”

Shortly after that conversation, Beard approached the couple and told them their rainbow flag had to come down. “He said he told Roger to take the lawn jockey down but he complained about our flag, so we had to take it down also,” said Hlavink. “Even though we did not feel it was justified, we complied in an attempt to end the harassment.”

However, according to Hlavink and Black, the harassment continued. That evening, as the couple returned from dinner, the lawn jockey was back up with a spotlight on it, Hlavink said. “We decided to call the police because at this point, we were afraid for our lives,” said Hlavink. “A state trooper arrived within the hour and took Roger away in handcuffs.”

However, the couple’s worries escalated. “We knew that all of Roger’s friends were watching when they took him away and felt they would retaliate.” Hlavink said. “We locked up the boat and went to stay with friends for the remainder of that night.”

The following day, the men explained the situation to Beard, told him they planned to leave right away and inquired about a refund for the remainder of the week. “His attitude really changed,” said Hlavink. “He told us first he would have to see the police report but we got the feeling that a refund was not going to happen.”

“There will be no refund,” confirmed Beard. “I looked at the police report and there was no altercation, no contact and no crime committed.”

Tim Winstead, a state police spokesperson, confirmed that Roger was questioned but not arrested. The full identity of an individual not charged with a crime is not released. Adam Gelof, a Delaware Deputy Attorney General, ruled there was not sufficient evidence to charge the gentleman with any crime, according to Winstead. Gelof did not return calls seeking comment.

“They sell those lawn jockeys all over the state and I didn’t care that Roger had one on his boat, “said Beard. “When someone gets disgruntled, that’s when I get mad. The guys didn’t like the lawn jockey, so I asked for it to be taken down. The other guy didn’t like their flag, so I asked for it to be taken down.”

Beard stated there was no marina policy restricting flags on boats. “In my opinion, these two guys blew the whole thing out of proportion,” Beard said. “I think they used the lawn jockey as an excuse to get the guy arrested.”

CAMP Rehoboth Board Member Fay Jacobs said she was distressed to hear of the incident. Jacobs and her partner spent weekends on their boat at the Rehoboth Bay Marina from 1995-98, but noted the marina had a different manager. “We flew our rainbow flag everyday and never experienced any problems,” Jacobs said. “It bothers me that the atmosphere has changed. While it may not be classified as a hate crime, I hate to see anyone subjected to harassment and made to feel uncomfortable.”