Subscribe
Hellobeautiful Featured Video
CLOSE

Another day, another instance of someone diminishing the focus of the NFL national anthem protests. This time it happens to be the founder of national pizza chain Papa John’s, who claims that the company’s recent declining sales are due to the current NFL boycott. Sigh.

Earlier this week it was reported that Papa John’s founder and CEO John Schnatter lost a whopping $70 million in mere hours, as shares of the pizza chain fell down 11%. Forbes was the first to report the huge company loss when Papa John’s released its third-quarter financial report. However, despite the company’s financial problems and figuring out how it happened, Schnatter has decided to blame it on the ongoing NFL boycott.

Via Forbes:

The net worth of John Schnatter, founder and CEO of pizza chain Papa John’s, fell $70 million in less than 24 hours after the company released its third-quarter financial report on Tuesday afternoon. Investors were not pleased with that news and sent shares down 11% through 12:30 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday. The stock is now trading at just over $60 per share.

Schnatter blames part of the downturn on the National Football League, which has faced turbulence amid widespread national anthem protests in the past year. “The NFL has hurt us by not resolving the current debacle,” he said on a conference call on Wednesday. Papa John’s is the league’s official pizza sponsor.

So far 2017 has been a challenging year for the restaurant chain. It has lost a quarter of its market capitalization since the start of January. Its future looked significantly brighter earlier this year. Shares hit an all-time high in December 2016, and Schnatter made ‘Forbes’’ list of the World’s Billionaires for the first time in March. He has since fallen off the ranks.

Um, sir please. The fact that Schnatter completely misses the need for the initial anthem protests that led to the current boycott just proves how tone deaf the 1% can be. Instead of placing the blame where it belongs, he decides to use an obvious scapegoat. Perhaps concentrate on making a better product and things could change…or not.

 

Check out today’s Top Stories here:

#JusticeForJazzy: Five Things To Know About Chennel ‘Jazzy’ Rowe

I Said What I Said: Porsha Williams Calls NeNe Leakes Fake To Her Face

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.