Bob CollinsThe owner of a national pizza chain is complaining that the protest in support of racial equity is starting to cost his company some money.
Papa John’s, the official pizza joint of the National Football League, reported this morning that same-store sales increased only 1 percent in the last quarter, while analysts expected it to increase 1.3 percent. Apparently, .3 percent is the toll that the NFL player protest is having on the company.
The company said people have turned off the NFL over the protest and they’re not eating pizza.
“The NFL has been a long and valued partner over the years but we are certainly disappointed that NFL and its leadership did not resolve the ongoing situation to the satisfaction of all parties this should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago,” John Schnatter said in a conference call.
“Nipped in the bud” is not pizza-shop code for embracing racial equity, for the record.
Mike Francesa, on Papa John's feud with him and the NFL. pic.twitter.com/s38iZV46Vj
— Ƒunhouse (@BackAftaThis) November 1, 2017
The Dallas Morning News points out that Schnatter was a donor to Trump’s campaign, spoke out against Obamacare, and rails against government regulations in his most recent book, “Papa: The Story of Papa John’s Pizza.”
It’s possible that pizza lovers who didn’t support Trump and like health care merely took their business elsewhere.
