Have the “pizza wars” begun?
Pizza Hut said on Wednesday that protests during the playing of the national anthem before NFL games hasn’t hurt its sales—one day after Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter said that his firm is experiencing declining sales due to the protests and the NFL’s lack of leadership on the matter.
“Leadership starts at the top, and this is an example of poor leadership,” Schnatter said.
Yum Brands, the parent company of Pizza Hut, added that live sporting events—including baseball, college football, and the NFL—are still important to its business. CNBC noted that Pizza Hut is the official sponsor of the NCAA’s college football games. There are no national anthem protests in college games.
According to CNBC, Papa John’s executives specifically cited a “combination of declining NFL viewership and negative consumer sentiment” over the national anthem protests and the NFL in general causing sales to drop.