It seems as if racism is present worldwide and that regardless of occupation or economic status, some things may not ever change. This past week in England, Pizza Hut made a major faux pas that may have given the company a serious black eye when it comes to race relations.
Six well dressed black men who just so happened to be professional soccer players entered one of the chain’s restaurants in the seaside town of Dorset, England. However, they were informed by staff they would have to pay for their food in advance because of the “the way they look[ed].” The players were from League One Side Bournemouth and had stopped by the establishmentfor lunch since their scheduled practice had been cancelled due to snow.
However, they refused the request when they saw a group of white youths who arrived after them had not been asked to do the same. At this point according to reports, the manager called the police.
“We ordered the food and the next thing the manager came up with the bill and said ‘Would you mind paying first?’ explained League One player Anton Robinson. ‘We asked if that was the policy and he said ‘no’. When we asked why he had asked us, he said, ‘It’s the way you look.’ The players left when the police arrived.
Since the incident, Pizza Hut has apologized to the group of men that included starters Marvin Bartley, Anton Robinson, and Liam Feeney. However, a spokesman for the company indicated that the company had recently introduced a new policy of asking certain customers to pay advance, but that exercising it was up to the discretion of staff. Pizza Hut management indicated that they had only used the policy with blacks, but stated that it was no racially motivated.
