The collusion legal case Colin Kaepernick has brought against the NFL is taking a not so surprising, yet still amusing turn. Kaepernick’s legal team is expected to bring in former Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter for a deposition, according to CBS Sports NFL reporter Jason La Canfora.
The man for whom Papa John’s was named was criticized for comments he made on an earnings call last year. The numbers were down and he blamed declining NFL TV ratings, citing kneeling players as part of the problem.
Papa John’s has plastered their ads all over NFL television, and there are owners and players prominently involved with the company. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is among them, and according to La Canfora owners over 100 hundred Papa John’s stores. La Canfora reported that Kaepernick’s legal team is expected to interview Papa John about any influence Jerry Jones might have played in Papa John’s comments.
The case is still in the discovery phase, which can be quite the fishing expedition for a defense attorney. Kaepernick’s attorneys are looking through a host of text, email, and phone records, among other things. Discovery allows for broader searches on the chance something relevant might come of the search. In a deposition, questioning is broader than in questioning once the court case has begun. In the latter, questioning is limited to mostly relevant topics.
If I was handling the deposition, I’d mostly just want to make sure Papa John knows his pizza is pretty atrocious. Fast food pizza isn’t particularly great anyway, but there’s a reason they give you so much of the dipping sauce. So tell the truth, Papa John, why does your pizza suck???