Papa John's wants you to know it supports protesting NFL players and hates Nazis
Remember the uproar Papa John’s started when CEO John Schnatter blamed sagging pizza sales on NFL players protesting during the national anthem? Yeah, well, that’s back, sort of, as the pizza chain issued a tepid apology on Tuesday – about two weeks after the fact – and in doing so took a swipe at neo-Nazis.
Welcome to 2017.
Here’s how it played out on Twitter:
The statements made on our earnings call were describing the factors that impact our business and we sincerely apologize to anyone that thought they were divisive. That definitely was not our intention. (1/3)
— Papa John's Pizza (@PapaJohns) November 15, 2017
We believe in the right to protest inequality and support the players’ movement to create a new platform for change. We also believe together, as Americans, we should honor our anthem. There is a way to do both. (2/3)
— Papa John's Pizza (@PapaJohns) November 15, 2017
We will work with the players and league to find a positive way forward. Open to ideas from all. Except neo-nazis — those guys. (3/3)
— Papa John's Pizza (@PapaJohns) November 15, 2017
Papa John’s is one of the biggest NFL sponsors. It apparently became the pizza of choice for some white supremacists who voiced their support for the pizza chain. That didn’t go over well with Papa J, who helped write the tweets according to the company’s Twitter feed. Papa John ripping the NFL wasn’t good for business either: The Associated Press said the company’s stock slipped by about 13 percent since Schnatter’s comments.
Outside of the people who cheered against Indiana Jones in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” this is sure to raise up Papa John’s Yelp ratings, right?
