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Now, many store operators - particularly those in red states - say they’re facing a harsh backlash from the parent company’s decisions.
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Subway doesn’t own any of its nearly 22,000 locations, but it charges franchisees 4.5 percent of their revenue for a national advertising fund and controls how the money is spent. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images AP
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“It gets tiring apologizing.” The purple-haired soccer star - who kneeled during the National Anthem to kick off the Tokyo Olympics before leading the United States to a bronze medal this week - began a stint as a pitchwoman for the fast-food giant this spring. “The ad should be pulled and done with,” the franchisee wrote of the Rapinoe spot. “Boycott Subway until Subway fires the anti-American … Megan Rapinoe, the creep who kneels for our beloved National Anthem!” the note read. Late last month on a discussion forum hosted by the North American Association of Subway Franchisees, a Wisconsin store operator posted a picture of a hand-scrawled note from an irate customer taped to the front door of his shop. The response has been mixed, according to franchisees. In one spot, Rapinoe - who has been a vocal proponent of equal rights and equal pay for women - knocks a burrito out of a guy’s hands by kicking a soccer ball at him. The 36-year-old, purple-haired soccer star - who kneeled ahead of a match before leading the United States to a bronze medal this week - began a stint as a pitchwoman for the fast-food giant this spring. Megan Rapinoe kicked up another round of controversy at the Tokyo Olympics - and now a group of Subway franchisees are pressuring the fast-food giant to give her the boot. ‘Not a win’: Hope Solo rips USWNT’s equal pay settlement Megan Rapinoe threatens Dwayne Johnson, XFL over trademark flap Subway lost more than 1,000 US locations last year, filings reveal