John Schnatter, the founder of the major pizza chain Papa John’s, didn’t mince words when asked about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during an interview with Jason Whitlock.
Schnatter called Goodell “a dirty guy” and “a coward” after claiming that he “fired Goodell.”
“I fired Goodell. I got rid of them. That’s on the record. The NFL was playing dirty. Roger Goodell is a dirty guy. He’s a coward. I don’t want to be associated with it. I don’t care how powerful they are, I don’t want to be in business with the NFL.” — Papa John Schnatter
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Papa John’s was the official pizza sponsor of the NFL from 2010 to 2018.
During an investor conference call in October 2017, Schnatter attributed Papa John’s poor financial performance to the National Football League (NFL), stating, “The NFL has hurt us… We are disappointed the NFL and its leadership did not resolve this.”
He was referring to the U.S. national anthem protests by football players.
Papa John’s Pizza had a marketing agreement as the NFL’s “official pizza company” and had marketing deals with 23 of its 32 teams.
Schnatter claimed that the protests were impacting the company’s sales.
Consequently, Papa John’s announced later that day that the NFL shield or “official sponsor” designation on its commercials and advertising would be removed.
Amid the controversy over his comments, Schnatter announced on December 21, 2017, that he would step down as CEO of Papa John’s.
He was replaced by Chief Operating Officer Steve Richie, with the transition effective from January 1, 2018.
The NFL and Papa John’s had reportedly mutually decided to end their partnership in 2018, but that doesn’t seem to be the case according to Schnatter.
It’s highly unlikely that Goodell will issue any type of response to Schnatter’s harsh words or even care for that matter.
