Rickers sorry for anti Burmese sign

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Ricker Oil issued an apology, Tuesday, after a sign reading 'No Burmese Allowed' was posted outside one of its businesses.

The sign, which completely read 'For Sanitary Purposes, There Are No Burmese Allowed' created a backlash, when it was spotted on a door at Ricker's laundromat on the corner of Rudisill and Calhoun. It's not clear when the sign went up or how long it remained there.

Angry customers turned to the social networking site, Facebook , to voice their outrage and vowed to boycott the company until it apologized.

On Tuesday, the company's founder, Jay Ricker issued the statement below.

On behalf of Rickers, I would like to apologize for any offense a recently posted sign may have caused at one of our locations in the Ft. Wayne area. Unfortunately, an employee responded to an alarming situation in an inappropriate manner, by posting this sign.

Once we learned of our employee's actions, we responded swiftly to rectify the situation. This sign in question was removed and we are exploring appropriate disciplinary action. It is the policy of Rickers to welcome all patrons to its facilities. We are committed to maintaining a positive relationship with all members of the communities we serve.

Jay Ricker

Ricker also included a link to a youtube apology video in which he read the above statement out loud. It can be viewed here .

A Ricker spokesperson would not go into detail about the 'alarming situation' referenced in the apology, but did say the company was working with Allen County's Health Department and Burmese Advocacy Center (BAC).

NewsChannel 15 first sent the apology to the BAC. Now, it's using the event as a chance to teach others.

A statement to NewsChannel 15 from the BAC reads: Such discrimination is violation of federal, state and local law since it targets an entire community based on its race and national origin... Though the BAC does not speak for all Burmese people, for its own part, it accepts teh apology in the spirit in which it was given. The BAC also understands that this event arose out of a lack of understanding and an inability of the parties to communicate with one another.