The pizza chain’s owner suggested that sales have slumped because of an association with the NFL. There might be another explanation.
This week, John Schnatter—better known to most Americans by his stage name, Papa John— made an audacious claim: that Papa John’s, which has recently experienced weaker than expected sales, has seen those declines because of its association with the National Football League. Some players’ protests against police brutality and systematic racism, Papa John suggested, have inspired “negative consumer sentiment” against the league—and, as a result, against the pizza pies that are officially associated with it.
