John Papa John's John Schnatter faces fallout after he confesses using N-word

To learn more: Better pizza? It depends on who you ask. Papa John's is one of the most polarizing brands of America

For more: A Super Bowl Without Father John & # 39 ; s? Pizza chain can not buy an advertisement for the game

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John Schnatter leaves as CEO of Pizza Papa John. No reason has been given for Schnatter's decision, but he has recently been criticized for blaming NFL players for protesting the collapse of pizza sales.
Wochit

One can not escape the irony that while trying to avoid another public relations crisis, Schnatter unleashed a new one. He unleashed a storm last November when he blamed Papa John's poor sales for "bad leadership" of the NFL in managing the players' protests during the national anthem. White supremacist groups praised the pizza maker, forcing the company to denounce their racist views.

On Wednesday, the free fall was swift:

• 5 pm EDT: The Forbes Story cites an alleged source Schnatter was asked, during a conference call in May, play scenarios to help him learn to answer questions on racial issues. Asked how he would distance himself from racist groups online, Schnatter reportedly said that "Colonel Sanders called the blacks," but Sanders was never confronted with a brutal reaction

. Life in Indiana, where, he said, people used to drag African Americans from trucks until they died. "The reference apparently aimed to show that he found the racism deplorable, but the source of Forbes said that several people were offended.

• 10:30 Papa John & # 39 s issued a statement saying that the company "condemns racism and any insensitive language, no matter the situation or setting."

• 11am After opening about 51 $ per share, the stock of the company reaches a low, slipping below $ 48. After a slight rebound, the market capitalization of Papa John drops by nearly $ 84 million that day

• 11:30 Social media comments begin to appear, some defending Schnatter but most decrying remarks.

• 2 pm Schnatter issues a statement admitting remarks Forbes updates his story

• 15:50 The NAACP Louisville Branch asks Schnatter to resign from his position as a director of the University of Louisville and / or to be dismissed. The Democratic Party of Kentucky is a few moments later.

• 16:30 pm The Mayor of Jeffersonville, Indiana – the hometown of Schnatter – commands the name of John H. Schnatter – Nachand Fieldhouse to be removed from a gymnasium decades old. The facility had been renamed in honor of Schnatter last year after giving $ 800,000 for its renovation.

• 4:54 pm . Grissom announces that he spoke with Schnatter, who resigned, with immediate effect.

Forbes reported that the owner of Laundry Service, the marketing company working with Schnatter, terminated his contract with Papa John's after learning the comments.

Papa John began to collapse a long time before Schnatter's remarks about the NFL last fall put him to the hot water. The company has seen declines in sales every quarter since the fall of 2016, including a 5.3% decline in North American operations in May. Leaders admit to losing market share to aggressive competitors in the fast food sector who have deployed delivery services, such as Uber Eats and Grubhub

. , a rising star hired a year earlier after a successful run at Wendy's, had been dropped. Rhoten's vision had been to refocus the brand on its quality and less on Schnatter.

The meteoric rise of Schnatter, launched in Jeffersonville's firm in 1984, is integral to Papa John's story. The company has grown to become a publicly traded international franchise with over $ 1 billion in annual sales. Papa John's franchises have over 4,700 stores, 3,500 in the United States and more than 1,200 in nearly 40 other countries and territories.

Schnatter, who holds about $ 700 million in shares, is seen on pizza boxes and, until recent months. many TV spots from Papa John where he rubbed shoulders with NFL stars like retired quarterback Peyton Manning

and even without the CEO title and a lower TV profile, Schnatter is still an imposing presence in Louisville.

The team plays at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Through multi-million dollar donations, three university entrepreneurship centers in the region bear his name – to Purdue, Louisville and Ball State, Schnatter's alma mater

John Karman, spokesperson from the University of Louisville. The football stadium of the school is premature at this time.

Purdue said late Wednesday afternoon that he would "continue to assess the situation" after reports on Schnatter's comments. Contributing Editor: Morgan Watkins of The Courier Journal; follow Grace Schneider on Twitter: @gesinfk The report says that Schnatter "also reflected on his debut in Indiana, where, he said, people had the habit of lugging African-Americans from trucks until their death. " The reference apparently aimed to show that he found the racism deplorable, but the source told Forbes that several people were offended.

Forbes reported that the owner of the public relations company working with Schnatter terminated his contract with Papa John's learned about the call.