Michigan senator denies wearing Confederate flag face mask, then apologizes

Michigan state senator Dale Zorn has apologized for wearing a mask appearing to be made from a Confederate flag at the State Capitol on Friday.

Before apologizing, Zorn denied that it was the flag to local news outlet WLNS, stating, "It wasn't a Confederate flag. It was a mask that my wife made for me and she wanted me to wear it today."

Zorn said he told his wife that the mask would raise eyebrows, but was adamant that it was not the flag. He then went on to say that, "Even if it was a Confederate flag, we should be talking about teaching our national history in schools. ... We can’t just throw [it] away because it is part of our history."

"If we want to make sure that the [atrocities] that happened during that time doesn’t happen again, we should be teaching it," he continued. "Our kids should know what that flag stands for."

When pressed by reporter Kiyerra Lake as to what the flag stands for, Zorn said the Confederacy.

Lake asked Zorn exactly what the mask was and he deferred to the explanation his wife allegedly gave him — that it was "more similar to" the Kentucky or Tennessee flag, and that it wasn't made of flag material. In a graphic provided by WLNS, it's clear that neither of those state flags resemble the Confederate flag.

Zorn apologized on Twitter Saturday, saying he did not intend to offend anyone, but realizes he did and that he will learn from this "episode."

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A Change.org petition was created Friday, calling for Zorn's immediate resignation.