Papa John’s owner John Schnatter, who is on my TV every Sunday in ads for his crappy chain pizza, is blaming lower earnings on his relationship with the NFL and those pesky players taking a knee.

“This should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago,” John Schnatter said in prepared remarks (via Chris Otts of WDRB.com). “Like many sponsors, we are in contact with the NFL and once the issue is resolved between the players and the owners, we are optimistic that the NFL’s best years are ahead. But good or bad, leadership starts at the top, and this is an example of poor leadership.”

Funny thing is sales of the pizza are actually up because Americans outside of big cities don’t know what good pizza actually is, so they’ll eat cardboard with ketchup on it.  What is actually down is the stock price.  Schnatter is personally losing money, so he’s lashing out irrationally.

I guess it’s a good thing he doesn’t have a gun and a badge and his misguided rage is just conducted through speeches.