Why MLB brought back controversial Papa John's promotion
Major League Baseball has decided to bring back its “Papa Slam” promotion with pizza chain Papa John’s for the 2019 season, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
The program was suspended indefinitely in July 2018 as Papa John’s and its founder, John Schnatter, were embroiled in controversy. Two months earlier, Schnatter had used a racial slur in a Papa John’s training seminar, which led to his ouster as the company’s chairman. At that time, MLB decided to distance itself from Papa John’s, but left the door open for future promotions.
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That future is now, as MLB is once again partnering with Papa John’s to offer discounts to baseball fans when a player hits a grand slam. The change, according to league sources, is a result of Papa John’s overhauling its corporate culture and investing into new community-oriented programs.
The promotion gives fans nationwide 30 percent off their entire order the day after a grand slam is hit. The first such opportunity came as Rhys Hoskins of the Philadelphia Phillies hit a grand slam on opening day.
According to league sources, MLB allowed Papa John’s to reinstitute the Papa Slam promotion after seeing the steps Papa John’s had taken to change its organization under new CEO Steve Ritchie, who was brought on in early 2018.
The move that got Papa John’s the most attention was adding NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to its board of directors, but the pizza company also added a chief of diversity, equity and inclusion and a chief people officer to its staff, as well as giving a $500,000 grant to Bennett College, an all-female historically black college. That was a move by the new Papa John’s Foundation for Building Community.
Even though MLB suspended its league-wide promotion with Papa John’s last season, numerous teams continued their individual regional promotions with Papa John’s — something that hasn’t changed moving into 2019.
News of the promotion may strike a chord with some fans less for the discounts and more because it represents the league re-engaging with the once-troubled company.
Papa John’s was under scrutiny even before news of Papa John himself using the slur. Schnatter blamed his relationship with the NFL and players kneeling during the national anthem for declining profit, it all equaled a tumultuous summer for the pizza chain.
Whether the return of Papa Slams draws social-media backlash remains to be seen.
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