Megan Rapinoe sparked outrage during the Tokyo Olympics, and now a group of Subway franchisees wants her fired.
The 36-year-old secured a sponsorship contract with the sandwich company this spring after kneeling during the National Anthem before kickoff.
Rapinoe is shown in one commercial kicking a burrito out of a man’s hands after kicking a soccer ball at him.
According to franchisees, the advertisements starring Rapinoe, who has been a passionate supporter of women’s and civil rights, have garnered mixed reactions.
A Wisconsin franchisee submitted a photo of a statement written by an unhappy customer and pinned to the front door of the business in a debate held by the North American Association of Subway Franchisees.
“Boycott Subway until Subway fires the anti-American… Megan Rapinoe, the creep who kneels for our beloved National Anthem! the message said
The ad should be withdrawn and done with, said the franchisee. It gets old apologizing.
A number of shop owners, particularly those in Republican areas, have said that they are suffering criticism as a result of the company’s policies.
NAASF representatives notified members last week that the organization had complained to the company’s senior management, headed by Chief Executive John Chidsey, over the Rapinoe advertisements.
“Your NAASF Board has previously conveyed to [Subway] leadership the concerns expressed by NAASF membership,” the group’s executive director, Illya Berecz, informed franchisees in a letter.
“I had a handful of franchisees contact me on this today,” a lawyer who represents Subway franchisees told. They are attempting to get the advertisements removed.
They undoubtedly wanted more splashy advertising to go along with more splashy cuisine, said John Gordon of Pacific Management Consulting Group. Their nation is so politically polarized, and Subway should have done an extensive background investigation before hiring [Rapinoe].
One disgruntled West Coast franchisee said that he feels the company’s advertisements should emphasize the better bread, and that Subway’s marketing experts should concentrate on the chain’s mom-and-pop owners to make Subway seem less corporate.
Spending their money to make a political statement is entirely and completely out of bounds, an NAASF franchisee in Arizona said on the NAASF site.
According to a franchisee in the Midwest, the corporation should have anticipated this before signing Rapinoe.
Rapinoe aroused outrage in July 2019 after reportedly stomping on the American flag. She had previously made news when she claimed that she would not go to the “f****ng White House” if President Trump welcomed them.
After the team’s bronze medal triumph in the Olympics, Trump issued a statement criticizing Rapinoe.
If their soccer squad, led by a bunch of Marxist Maniacs, hadn’t been awakened, they’d have won the Gold Medal instead of the Bronze. The lady with the purple hair performed poorly and spends much too much time worrying about Radical Left politics rather than completing her work, according to the statement.
Rapinoe has inked numerous more endorsement contracts this year, including one with Victoria’s Secret in June.
