Papa John’s International is a mess. Investors should consider picking up a slice of it anyway.
Last November, the pizza chain’s founder, John Schnatter, embroiled the company in the controversy over football players’ national anthem protests, blaming it for declining National Football League television viewership and for his company’s slowing sales. Mr. Schnatter, who owns 29% of Papa John’s, stepped down as CEO at the end of 2017 and the company ended its NFL sponsorship. But a report last month that he had used a racial...