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NEW YORK – Papa John's, who has featured founder John Schnatter as spokesman in logos and TV ads, has begun to pull his image from its marketing and pledged to badess its diversity in a racial slur. 19659002] Schnatter's face was off some materials by Friday, though the pizza chain said there are no plans to change its name. Schnatter is still on the board and is the company's largest shareholder -meaning he remains a key presence
CEO Steve Ritchie said Friday the company will retain an outside expert to audit its processes related to diversity and inclusion. And he said senior managers will hold "listening sessions" to give employees a platform for any questions
"Papa John's is not an individual. Papa John's is a pizza company with 120,000 corporate and franchise team members around the world, "he said in a statement.
Schnatter came under fire this week after a Forbes report that he used the N-word during a media training conference call in May. Schnatter reportedly complained that Colonel Sanders never again had a back-to-back relationship with him.
In a radio interview with WHAS in Louisville on Friday, Schnatter said he was "just talking about the way the Colonel talked." He said it was "sick" about the incident.
"I said it, and it's wrong," he said.
In addition to appearing in TV ads, Schnatter's image website of the Louisville, Kentucky-based company.
Papa John's has made the most of his reputation. The company got a taste of that last year, when Schnatter stepped down as CEO after blaming disappointing pizza sales on the outcry surrounding football players kneeling during the national anthem
Keith Hollingsworth, a professor with Morehouse College's business department, said keeping Schnatter in the marketing and advertising it would be a great deal.
"Five years from now, they could be him back. But at the moment, "Hollingsworth said.
The company can not afford to alienate customers, with sales of Domino's rivals such as. For the first three months of this year, Papa John's said he was a key sales figure in North America.
Schnatter owns nearly 30 per cent of the company's shares, which fell after the report but rebounded when he said he would departure as chairman. They ended up Friday.
Other fallout continued Friday. The University of Louisville said it will remove the Papa John's name from its football stadium, and that it will be renamed the John H. Schnatter Center for Free Enterprise at its business college.
Major League Baseball had also said it was indefinitely suspending a promotion to Papa John's that would be a hit at the pizza chain after a hit hit a big slam.
Papa John's International Inc., which began operations in 1984, has more than 5,200 rentals globally.
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Follow Candice Choi at http://www.twitter.com/candicechoi
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