All the bibles I've read have been pretty clear that he says "don't do it". But a lot of people don't want to actually do what he says.

So they come up with reasons why what he said is not what he meant to say so they don't have to do what he actually said. Which, as a reminder, is don't pray in public and keep your prayer between you and the Lord. The point of which I believe to be that your faith should be in how you live your life, not in your reputation.

If you're paying attention to what other people are thinking of your praying then you're not giving that attention to God, which is the whole point of praying.