Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones "won't distance the team" from Papa John's despite Founder John Schnatter's "use of a racial slur," according to the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Jones "pointed out that the team does more than endorse the pizza brand: it owns stores in Texas." He even called the Cowboys the "face of Papa John's" in those stores. Jones: "Some teams that I've noticed that have addressed the Papa John's issue by distancing themselves do not have the same relationship that the Cowboys have with the Papa John's business in Texas. We own the Papa John's in Texas and feel strongly that our Cowboys are the big face of Papa John's and that judgment is warranted by what we've done over the last 15 years with Papa John's." Meanwhile, the Rangers have "suspended all promotions and advertising deals with Papa John's amid the scandal, and FC Dallas announced the club is suspending its Papa John's promotions" (DALLASNEWS.com, 7/25). Cowboys COO, Exec VP & Dir of Player Personnel Stephen Jones noted Jerry Jones "owns a percentage of 50 Papa John's stores in North Texas." Jerry Jones: "It's unfortunate for the company and unfortunate for John. I'm sure if he could do it over again, he'd like do-overs. But the bottom line is the Cowboys and our relationship, we own those stores. It's not an endorsement. Similar to the way [Broncos President of Football Operations & GM John Elway] does in Denver." He added, "The point is: We just want to work real hard. We literally have thousands of people who work in those stores and several thousand customers" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 7/25).
RIDERS ON THE STORM: In Dallas, David Moore writes Jerry Jones "considers himself and the Cowboys the face of Papa John's in Texas more than Schnatter." Jones is "betting on the Cowboys brand to ride out this storm" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/26). Stephen Jones said that issues such as the Papa John's scandal "need to be dealt with firmly and quickly." Jones: "Our relationship is a little more intricate than most. There have been some that have changed their stance with them. We certainly know that it's very serious. But we've got to move forward and face the challenges head on. I think Papa John's and their board will certainly do everything that they need to do to right the ship" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/26).
