FirstCuts: Shirt Starts Papa John's Boycott

If I ever learned anything from 30 Rock, it is that people of the fair city want you to eat. One thing they will not be eating soon: Papa John's pizza.

That shirt to the right directed at LeBron James, which popped up during Game 6 of the first-round series between the Cavs and Wizards, was the cause of what has become an unofficial boycott of Papa John's among people in Northeast Ohio and Cavaliers fans in general. And let me tell you, a movement becomes serious when there's a Facebook group with a long, rambling title. All that we're missing at this point is a bunch of them ending up on eBay -- and believe me, they probably will after all this attention.

So while BoycottPapaJohns.com gets up and running, it would appear Papa John's is in scramble mode to repair its image, even leaving an apology from a corporate address on the SoGood Blog, which has been all over the story this past weekend.

It is the D.C Papa Johns Pizza Franchise who had a very poor marketing campaign. They did this without thinking about the repercussion here in Ohio! ... Please accept my apologies and know that this issue is being handled at the highest level at our corporate headcounters in Louisville Kentucky.

So there you have it; this whole thing was the work of one rogue cell. The actions of this one franchise do not represent the greater ethos of the benevolent people at Papa John's (or the Wizards, for that matter). But still, I'm from Ohio and I'm deeply hurt by this shirt. Now bring back that ridiculous meat pizza from a few years ago or there will be consequences!

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.