Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy added something new to his menu: humble pie. And he took a big bite of it to express regrets for his anti-gay statements that twice thrust the Atlanta company into the middle of the gay marriage debate.
“Every leader goes through different phases of maturity, growth and development and it helps by (recognizing) the mistakes that you make,” Cathy said. “And you learn from those mistakes. If not, you’re just a fool. I’m thankful that I lived through it and I learned a lot from it.
But don't be fooled. Cathy made it clear that he hasn't evolved on gay marriage, just that he's curtailing his penchant for mixing his personal views with business.
“I think the time of truths and principles are captured and codified in God’s word and I’m just personally committed to that,” he said. “I know others feel very different from that and I respect their opinion and I hope that they would be respectful of mine.”
Cathy's deep-dive with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over the flap he created in coming out against gay marriage in 2012 and again last June comes just days after reports showed that two Chick-fil-A foundations dropped nearly all funding for anti-gay groups.
No word if that humble pie comes in a combo with those tasty waffle fries.
[AJC]
