Papa Johns Founder Resigns, Admits News Of Racial Slur Usage Is True In Statement

Once again, Papa Johns founder John Schnatter is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Last year, Schnatter found himself in hot water after condemning NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem before games. Following his statements, his pizza sales subsequently tanked. But rather than pointing the finger at himself, the founder blamed the NFL for declining sales. And following that particular incident, he also relinquished his role as CEO of the company and the company ended their partnership with the NFL in February of 2018.

Then, as the Inquisitr shared yesterday, Schnatter was accused of using the N-word multiple times during a conference with the Laundry Services marketing agency this past May, whom he was going to hire to do his PR. He allegedly used the N-word when he was describing Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, who he said called his employees names like the N-word but “never faced any backlash.” But a Papa John’s employee with “knowledge of the situation” reported the incident to Forbes and then news spread like wildfire. After the call, Laundry Services opted to end their relationship with the pizza company.

Following the release of the Forbes article, Papa John himself issued a statement, denying any allegations and saying that his company “condemns racism and any insensitive language, no matter the situation or setting.” He then seemed to change his tune and ended up resigning as a chairman from the company that he built yesterday. As CBS News shares, he acknowledged that he did, in fact, use a racial slur during his conference call and ended up apologizing for his harsh words in a statement.

John Schnatter, the founder and public face of Papa John's pizza, has resigned as the company's chairman after it emerged he used the N-word on a conference call in May. https://t.co/01ICNa73zC pic.twitter.com/MQrhCrawpJ

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 12, 2018

“News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media-training session regarding race are true. Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”

But the bad news doesn’t end there for Schnatter. According to Fox News, Mike Moore, who is the mayor of Schnatter’s hometown of Jeffersonville, Indiana, has announced that they will be renaming a fieldhouse in the city so it will no longer feature the shamed founder’s name. The mayor also issued a statement regarding his actions on Wednesday.

“The city of Jeffersonville represents a very diverse community. It was a tough decision, but I believe it was the right decision,” Moore said.

In 2017, Schnatter donated $800,000 to go toward renovations of the fieldhouse and it was then re-named “John H. Schnatter–Nachand Fieldhouse.” Now the name will be changed back to “Nachand Fieldhouse.”