The sister of a Lawrence man beaten early Friday outside a downtown bar said her brother was the victim of a hate crime.

âÂÂHeâÂÂs gay, and itâÂÂs very obvious,â Lisa Hunt said during an interview Saturday about her 28-year-old brother.

HuntâÂÂs brother, Jeffrey Medis, is recovering from a beating that left him with fractured upper and lower jaws, a broken nose, fractured eye socket, a concussion, two teeth knocked out and a gash on his chin that took six stitches to close. He also suffered a seizure, she said.

âÂÂIt was pretty horrific,â said Hunt, who flew Friday to Lawrence from Oklahoma City to see her brother. âÂÂIâÂÂm mortified to know that somebody could be so violent and beat someone like that.âÂÂ

On Sunday, a weary Medis told the Journal-World he didnâÂÂt remember the beating.

âÂÂI hope theyâÂÂre caught,â he said.

His jaw wired shut, heâÂÂs not expected to eat solid food for about a month.

The attack took place about 1:45 a.m. Friday after Medis left the Replay Lounge, 946 Mass. Bar patrons found him lying unconscious in a pool of blood outside the barâÂÂs front door not long after, said Hunt, who went to the bar Friday night to try to find witnesses.

Hunt said her brother told her that he had not been harassed by anyone inside the bar.

Several people told Hunt there was a white SUV-type vehicle parked nearby with four or five men in it and they thought they were the suspects, Hunt said. Several people gathered around the vehicle to keep it from leaving until police arrived.

The men later denied taking part in the beating to police and were not arrested.

âÂÂBasically, this individual was walking out of the bar, and the next thing he remembers is waking up at the hospital,â said Sgt. Dave Hubbel, a police department spokesman.

Hubbel and Hunt are asking anyone who saw the beating to call the departmentâÂÂs detective division, 830-7430, or the CrimeStoppers tip line, 843-8477.

Hubbel said detectives spent much of the weekend interviewing people known to be in Replay Lounge the night of the beating.

âÂÂAt this point, weâÂÂre not sure what happened, and neither is the victim,â Hubbel said. âÂÂSo itâÂÂs really important for anybody who saw anything to please call the detectives or the tip line.âÂÂ

Chase Richards, director of Queers and Allies, a Kansas University-based support group for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people, said itâÂÂs âÂÂentirely possibleâ that Medis was beaten because heâÂÂs homosexual.

âÂÂLawrence does not have gay bar per se,â Richards said. âÂÂBut I think itâÂÂs safe to say the Replay has a sizable gay clientele, which always raises the chances of something like this being motivated by hate.âÂÂ

He added, âÂÂIâÂÂve heard of people – gay people – being hassled coming out of the Replay.âÂÂ

But Replay Lounge manager Matt Sullivan said heâÂÂd not heard of the barâÂÂs gay patrons being hassled.

âÂÂThis is a friendly place,â he said. âÂÂBut I can see why somebody would think itâÂÂs a hate crime, because, otherwise, it doesnâÂÂt make sense. What happened was horrible – IâÂÂve worked downtown, and IâÂÂve never seen anything like it.âÂÂ

âÂÂThis is the most gay-friendly bar in town,â said Jeff Stolz, who was tending bar Sunday evening at the Replay Lounge. âÂÂJeffrey is a regular here; we all love him. HeâÂÂs a great guy.âÂÂ

Stolz and Sullivan both said theyâÂÂve not been able to find anyone who saw the beating.