Papa John's quarrels with a historically black college for a scholarship

Students who were waiting for $ 2,000 scholarships to be funded by a donation from Papa John's have had their money withdrawn, said Simmons College of Kentucky at FOX Business.

The question of who is responsible for withdrawing the money from the 10 students, totaling $ 20,000, pits Papa John's at a historically black university in Kentucky.

The donation of the pizza franchise, according to the school, was supposed to cover living expenses, such as food and lodging, students who had already been informed of the receipt of financial aid. Students who have been informed by President Kevin W. Cosby that funds have been revoked are now left to the task of covering expenses, according to a university spokesman.

The unexpected withdrawal of scholarships was announced around the same time that John Schnatter, founder and former CEO of Papa John's, had announced the promise of a million dollars to this school. That decision brought him back into the limelight after his resignation after publicly criticizing the NFL and using it for racial insults more than a year ago.

In a prepared statement, Cosby claimed that the withdrawal of funds was a direct attack on students.

"It was as if someone had taken weapons of mass destruction and carried them away in the hopes, dreams and aspirations of some of America's most vulnerable students," he said. Cosby.

Papa Johns did not immediately respond to a request for comment from FOX Business.

Simmons College will ensure that students who have been promised scholarships receive the funds in the future, said a spokeswoman for Simmons at the Courier Journal.

A spokesman for Simmons said the school was only meant to delay scholarships and that school officials were under pressure from Papa John's director of diversity. The school spokeswoman said that Schnatter's donation had made the society uncomfortable. Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Papa John denied this and claimed that the rejection of the school was unexpected.

"In light of the latest news, it is best to refuse your scholarships for now and perhaps look for other ways to partner in the future," writes Von Purdy, development director of Simmons.

Simmons did not immediately return a request to explain why Purdy's email was saying "decline" rather than "delay".

In an email sent to the school, a manager of Papa John seems to agree not to want the company and Schnatter merged.

"We fully understand the conflict of interest between John Schnatter's gift to Simmons and the relationship between the Papa John's brand and the college," wrote Victoria Russell, head of diversity, of the 39; equity and inclusion of Papa John's. "Thank you for being proactive in sending this and clearly separating John and Mark."

Schnatter left his position as CEO of the Louisville-based pizza chain in 2017 after reporting disappointing NFL player protests. He subsequently resigned from his presidential post after using the N keyword during a conference call.

Schnatter told FOX Business earlier this month in an exclusive interview that he had resigned because he was ready to retire.

"I was not forced to retire," he told "In the morning with Maria," Maria Bartiromo added. "We had a fantastic nine-year race. We took the stock of about $ 6.40 per share at nearly $ 80. And so good race, good fun, good time – we were ready to leave. "

Schnatter said his comments about the NFL had been "misinterpreted" and that the company was at fault for not having corrected the record.

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"I would have liked [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell has just solved the problem. Do not forget that a third of our budget was spent on the NFL, Schnatter said. As a result, when ratings fell by about 20% … it hurt our business, our franchisees and our small business owners. "

Regarding teleconferencing, Schnatter added that his words "got twisted".

Associated Press contributed to this report.

Julia Limitone contributed to this report.