Evan Webeck
The Seattle Times
The Mariners have suspended their relationship with Papa John’s indefinitely, the club confirmed to The Seattle Times on Friday, joining a growing list of MLB organizations to sever ties with the pizza company following the news of its founder’s use of a racial slur on a company phone call.
“Mr. Schnatter’s comments were offensive and inexcusable,” the club said in a statement provided to The Times. “They do not in any way represent what we stand for at the Seattle Mariners. As a result, we have indefinitely suspended our relationship with Papa John’s.”
The club made no formal announcement, but broke the news on Twitter responding to a tweet inquiry:
The club partnered with Papa John’s to offer fans 50 percent off the day after the Mariners scored five or more runs. The suspension means they will cease all promotion of the deal, including signs around Safeco Field, as well as advertising on the radio and online.
John Schnatter, the company’s namesake and founder, resigned as chairman following a Forbes report that he used the n-word on a company conference call. Its purpose, according to Forbes, was to “prevent further public-relations snafus.” Schnatter, who confirmed accuracy of the report to Forbes, was reportedly complaining about Colonel Sanders having never faced backlash, even though “Colonel Sanders called blacks n— — s.”
It’s just the latest in Schnatter’s fall. He resigned as CEO in December for criticizing NFL players’ protests during the national anthem. On Wednesday, he resigned from the University of Louisville’s board of trustees. Louisville also on Friday announced it would remove the Papa John’s name from its football stadium.
The Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins were the first MLB teams to publicly end their relationships with Papa John’s. The Marlins released a statement Thursday, and the Tampa Bay Times reported the Rays news. The Royals, Nationals and Orioles have since joined, too.
“Mr. Schnatter’s derogatory and insensitive comments are not at all reflective of the values of our organization,” the Marlins said in their statement. The Nationals “do not condone discrimination of any kind,” they said in theirs.
Both the league and other teams in it have various promotional relationships with Papa John’s. MLB has featured the “Papa Slam” promotion since 2016, allowing fans to get 40 percent off a pizza order after a player hits a grand slam. But Yahoo! reported it also suspended the promotion following the Forbes report.
Meanwhile, teams like the Yankees and White Sox have ongoing relationships with the company. Chicago fans get 50 percent off when the White Sox win. If the Yankees score six or more runs, their fans get half off.
