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Papa John's founder, John Schnatter, resigns from his position as chairman of the pizza company's board of directors after apologizing for using a racial insult during a conference call for to teach Schnatter not to say offensive things. the fallout for Schantter, who faced increasing pressure after admitting to using the n-word and portrayed a violent scene against African Americans during a conference call in May.
Forbes first reported the call, which was set up to help take Schnatter through a "role-play exercise" to help him deal with situations racial sensibilities. Schantter resigned as CEO of Papa John last year, after blaming NFL executives for not stopping the hymn protests that he said had brought down the channel's sales
. asked how he distance himself from racist groups online. He responded by downplaying the importance of his NFL statement. "Colonel Sanders called the blacks," said Schnatter, before complaining that Sanders has never been confronted with public reactions.
Schnatter also reflected on his debut in Indiana, where, he said, Americans trucked until their death. Apparently, he intended the remarks to express his dislike of racism, but several people on the call found them offensive, a source close to the case said.
Schnatter confirmed to Forbes that he made these comments and apologized. "Reports that attribute the use of inappropriate and hurtful language during a race-based media training session are true," he said in a statement. "No matter the context, I'm sorry, in simple terms, racism has no place in our society."
Papa John's declared that he had accepted the Schnatter's resignation and that he was going to appoint a new president. Schnatter – under increasing pressure, including from the Louisville chapter of the NAACP – also resigned Wednesday from the Louisville University Board of Directors.
Schnatter was appointed to the board by Governor Matt Bevin but has long been in university and financial support from the university. The football stadium is named after the company he founded – Papa John's Cardinal Stadium – and he donated millions to found an eponymous Center for Free Business in Louisville.
Another city also responded: The mayor of Jeffersonville, Indiana – Schnatter's hometown – ordered that his name be removed from his local country house on Wednesday. Schnatter had given hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate the aging plant last year.
The pizza chain itself was also affected after Yahoo reported that MLB had suspended a promotional deal with Papa John. The NFL incident had repercussions on the company; The NFL replaced Papa John's by Pizza Hut as the league's official pizza, and Papa John had to deal with a slowdown in sales.
Schnatter created controversy even before his NFL remarks last year. The founder of Papa John was slammed in 2012 for saying that the cost of insurance for his employees under the Affordable Care Act would increase the cost of the pizza, which caused back-ups on the part of client. recalled his role in the company after the NFL debacle. But according to Forbes, the founder wanted to make a comeback. The teleconference was an attempt to avoid future PR disasters – and eventually turned against him.
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