Why Papa John’s wants ideas on NFL anthem protests – except from one divisive group
Nearly two weeks after saying the NFL has hurt its business, Papa John’s Pizza is clarifying its stance on anthem protests.
The pizza chain used its Twitter page Tuesday to apologize to anyone who thought talk stemming from the company’s quarterly conference call nearly two weeks ago was meant to be divisive.
For good measure, Papa John’s made sure one group’s views are not welcome, giving those people “the finger” in emoji form.
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
The tweets come not long after Papa John’s was slammed on social media by other pizza companies, and reports that said founder and CEO John Schnatter lost a chunk of his personal net worth in one day.
The company has already stated it doesn’t want business from racists. Tuesday’s posts seeking a middle ground on anthem protests just serve as a reminder that Neo-Nazis aren’t invited to the discussion.
This story was originally published November 14, 2017 at 9:54 PM with the headline "Why Papa John’s wants ideas on NFL anthem protests – except from one divisive group."