Alabama store pulls Pepsi products with NFL logo over anthem protests "I refuse to sell the product until the logo is removed. I will not bow down in order to make a dollar as long as the athletes are allowed to bow down and disrespect the flag and country I love,” Phillip Stewart said. DES PLAINES, IL – JUNE 13: Pepsi labels are seen on plastic bottles of the soft drink displayed on a store shelf June 13, 2006 in Des Plaines, Illinois. Doctors at the annual American Medical Association meeting in Chicago this week have called for a “fat tax” on sugary soft drinks to help fight obesity in the U.S. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images) A grocery store owner in Athens, Ala., is refusing to sell Pepsi products because they feature the NFL logo. In a Facebook post from S&Z Grocery owner Phillip Stewart said he pulled Pepsi bottles off the shelf himself and would no longer be selling them in his store. “This may cause me to lose some business, but here goes. S&Z supermarket currently will not be selling 20 ounce Pepsi or Diet Pepsi. These two items are currently produced with the NFL logo on them. I refuse to sell the product until the logo is removed. I will not bow down in order to make a dollar as long as the athletes are allowed to bow down and disrespect the flag and country I love,” the Facebook post stated. READ MORE:Simone Biles slams anti-Nike tweet by Interim USA gymnastics leader Stewart told WAFF he pulled the bottles off the shelf himself, saying it felt wrong to sell the products with the logo. “I don’t want to support them (the NFL) in any way, because I feel like it’s just wrong. I can’t in good conscious sell the product because it does have the logo on it,” Stewart told Fox News. The NFL protest, which began in the 2016-2017 football season by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, triggered a debate across the country, backlash for some players and harsh criticism from President Trump. Kaepernick started kneeling to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Stewart told WHNT he understood why players were protesting but didn’t “agree with the tactic.” “The cause is just. I think there are other ways to deal with it. This has brought attention to it I’m sure there is good that comes from this, I just don’t agree with the tactic,” he said. The owner said refusing to support the league helped him sleep at night. “I can sleep knowing that I’m not supporting somebody that’s doing something I don’t believe in,” Stewart said. Stewart told news reporters that many of his customers supported his cause, but he has received negative phone calls and feedback about the Facebook post. READ MORE:Girl, Bye! Cornerstore Caroline apologizes Share<doc-sep>Photo : PepsiCo An Athens, Alabama grocery store stated on Facebook that it will no longer sell Pepsi products that carry the NFL logo; Pepsi is a longtime sponsor of the NFL and uses the league’s logo on a number of bottles. But S&Z Grocery made a statement on its Facebook page yesterday that the store will stop carrying the 20-ounce Pepsi bottles that bear the NFL logo because players have been permitted to “disrespect the flag and country that I love.” Advertisement The statement begins with an acknowledgement that “this may cause me to lose some business,” and goes on to state: “I will not bow down in order to the [sic] make a dollar as long as the athletes are allowed to bow down and disrespect the flag and country that I love.” The post currently has 295 shares and close to 500 reactions, most of which are positive. “I pulled them myself, the customers didn’t know I was doing this. I sold the product that I had that did not have the logo on it. And I told my rep as well as the delivery guy that I did not want those brought into the store, because I would not sell them,” owner Phillip Stewart told news station WAFF 48. I can see this boycott cutting two ways: Couldn’t the grocery store’s refusal to stock NFL-logo products just as easily have been a criticism of the league’s handling of the anthem protests, and a show of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and others? Whose pockets does this boycott theoretically hurt: Pepsi, for working with the NFL, or the NFL, which “allows” players to “bow down and disrespect the flag?” I guess that’s not for me to say. Anyway, in a related move this August, a Florida restaurant announced it would cancel its expensive DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket package “due to [the NFL’s] lack of compassion and gratitude for our American service members. ” Instead, owners said they would use the money saved to offer 40-percent food discounts to veterans on Sunday game days.<doc-sep>An Alabama grocery store is refusing to sell Pepsi products bearing the NFL logo to boycott the NFL players who are protesting the national anthem. S&Z Grocery Store in Athens, Alabama, announced Wednesday that it would be boycotting Pepsi products until they remove the logo: The store’s owner, Phillip Stewart, told WAFF he personally removed the bottles from the shelf because he felt it was wrong to sell the products bearing a logo for a league he does not support. “I don’t want to support them in any way, because I feel like it’s just wrong. I can’t in good conscious sell the product because it does have the logo on it,” Stewart said. “I pulled them myself, the customers didn’t know I was doing this. I sold the product that I had that did not have the logo on it. And I told my rep as well as the delivery guy that I did not want those brought into the store because I would not sell them,” the store owner added. Many NFL players began kneeling during the national anthem after former NFL San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick pulled the stunt in the 2016 football season to protest police brutality. Even though Kaepernick is still a free agent and is not playing for an NFL team, he is still encouraging players to kneel in protest of the anthem. President Trump has spoken out against the anthem protests, calling the practice of kneeling during the national anthem “unacceptable.”<doc-sep>
Pepsi's slogan may have once been "The Choice of a New Generation," but one grocery store owner has chosen to no longer sell its products because they feature the NFL logo. A Facebook post from S&Z Grocery in Athens, Alabama, stated the store would not sell the products until the logo is removed. “This may cause me to lose some business, but here goes. S&Z supermarket currently will not be selling 20 ounce Pepsi or Diet Pepsi. These two items are currently produced with the NFL logo on them. I refuse to sell the product until the logo is removed. I will not bow down in order to make a dollar as long as the athletes are allowed to bow down and disrespect the flag and country I love,” the Facebook post stated. Phillip Stewart, the owner of the store, told WAFF he pulled the bottles off the shelf himself, saying it felt wrong to sell the products with the logo. “I don’t want to support them in any way, because I feel like it’s just wrong. I can’t in good conscious sell the product because it does have the logo on it,” said Stewart. ERIC REID TAKES A KNEE DURING NATIONAL ANTHEM IN FIRST GAME AS CAROLINA PANTHERS PLAYER “I pulled them myself, the customers didn’t know I was doing this. I sold the product that I had that did not have the logo on it. And I told my rep as well as the delivery guy that I did not want those brought into the store because I would not sell them,” he continued. During the 2016-2017 season, many NFL players began kneeling during the national anthem. The protest was started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick who began kneeling to protest against police brutality. The kneeling triggered fierce debate across the country and received criticism from President Trump. Stewart told WHNT he understood why players were protesting but didn’t “agree with the tactic.” "The cause is just. I think there are other ways to deal with it. This has brought attention to it I'm sure there is good that comes from this, I just don't agree with the tactic," he said. DOLPHINS PLAYERS CONTINUE TO KNEEL DURING NATIONAL ANTHEM The owner said refusing to support the league helped him sleep at night. "This helps me sleep at night. I can sleep knowing that I'm not supporting somebody that's doing something I don't believe in," he explained. Stewart told WAFF that most of his customers supported his cause but he has received some negative phone calls about the Facebook post.