Papa John's founder resigns as president after using N-word in a conference call

John Schnatter, the founder and public face of Papa John's pizza, resigned from his position as president of the company .

Papa John ( PZZA ) said Wednesday evening in a statement that he would appoint a new president "in the coming weeks".

Schnatter was excused earlier in the day after Forbes reported that he used racial insult while participating in a role-play exercise designed to prevent public relations crises.

In a statement issued by the company, Schnatter said: "Reports that attribute the use of inappropriate and offensive language during a media training session. on the race are true. " Regardless of the context, I apologize. no place in our society. "

According to Forbes' story, Schnatter was in communication with Laundry Service, a marketing agency, and was asked how he planned to handle future public relations surges.

Schnatter founded Papa John & # 39 in 1984. He is the public face of the company and its largest shareholder, controlling 29%, and appears in his ads, including one that has been deployed as recently as in April.

Papa John & # 39; s is the third largest pizza chain in the United States by sales, lagging behind Domino ( DPZ ) and Pizza Hut ( ] PZZA ) .It has stores in dozens of countries around the world, covering Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. Asia.

The company's stock closed down 4.8% on Wednesday.

Schnatter sparked controversy the year He was last when he said that Papa John's pizza sales were hurt by the manipulation of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice. He resigned from his position as CEO two months after the comments.

Related: Papa John's: We did not want to be "split" on the NFL protests

On the appeal in May, Schnatter sought to downplay the importance of his criticism of the league and its players, reported Forbes.

"Colonel Sanders called the blacks," he said, complaining that Sanders had never received a reaction, according to Forbes. KFC's parent company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Forbes also reported that Schnatter remembers growing up in Indiana, where he said people used to hang blacks from their trucks until their deaths.

Forbes reported that Schnatter's comments were intended to demonstrate his stance against racism, but that people on the call were offended by them.

Laundry Service, which belongs to Wbaderman Media Group, declined to comment through the intermediary of a spokesperson on Schnatter's remarks or the company's relationship with Papa John. Forbes reported that Wbaderman moved to terminate his contract with Papa John after the call.

Schnatter also resigned Wednesday from the board of directors of the University of Louisville. President J. David Grissom, said : "After speaking with John, I am confident that his comments, although inappropriate, do not reflect his personal beliefs or values." He added that board members do not tolerate racism or "insensitive" language.

He also thanked Schnatter for his "generous support for so many years". The University of Louisville football team plays its home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Papa John's was the long-time exclusive NFL pizza sponsor, but ended his partnership with the league earlier this year under the direction of Steve Ritchie.

– CNN's Danielle Wiener-Bronner contributed to this report.

CNNMoney (New York) First published July 11, 2018: 3:21 pm ET