JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Central Florida man's Confederate flag prompted a free-speech battle with his employer, who doesn't want it displayed on company property.

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The flag is attached to Bobby Tillett's pickup truck, which he drives to work every day, WJXT reported. Because his employer has banned the flag from his parking lot, Tillett is forced to park far from his job.

"If I take it down, that means you know the politically correct people would have won, and that's wrong," Bobby Tillett said. "If you believe in something that strong (you) should have no problem whatsoever to fly it."

Tillett said the flag flap began when he showed up for work at BJ's Wholesale off Pritchard Road.

"Management confronts me and tells me, politely, if I would take my flag off my truck," Tillett said. "I said, 'No, I will not.'"

Tillett said his managers told him if he did not remove the flag, he couldn't park in the employee lot.

"I'm a firm believer it's not about winning or losing, it's about right and wrong," Tillett told WJXT's Dan Leveton.

So Tillett decided to park on public property about a half-mile away and walk to work.

He says it takes him about 10 minutes to walk to the job, but it's worth it.

"It's about heritage; it's about pride," Tillett said. "I don't look at it much different than the American flag. There's been a lot of blood spilled over that flag, too, and I love that flag, and I'll fly it 'till the day I die."

No one at BJ's would comment about the controversy, but they did issue a statement saying it is about the rights of other employees:

"Like all employers, we have guidelines of appropriate personal behavior and expression at work. While the policy does not identify any specific type of expression, it generally prohibits expression that is rude, abusive, hostile or intimidating. Under these guidelines, we asked this team member to not display the confederate flag in our parking lot. We are confident that we have struck the right balance for all of our team members and their work environment."

Tillett said none of his co-workers has told him they dislike the flag. He said most people support him and he plans to keep on flying his Confederate flag, even if it costs him the job.

"I'm standing by my guns ... or my flag," Tillett said.