Papa John’s Founder Apologizes For Using N-Word In May Media-Training Conference; Loses His Job

Nearly nine months after #PapaJohn’s founder #JohnSchnatter, and then-CEO, said the NFL players’ protests against police brutality and social injustices hurt his business, the face of the brand has resigned from his position on the company’s board for his recently outed racist remarks. 

“News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media-training session regarding race are true,” Schnatter said in a statement on Wednesday, as he acknowledged his use of a racial slur. “Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

In less than 12 hours after the news broke about Schnatter’s use of the N-Word in a May conference call about public relations disasters, and a subsequent apology, Schnatter’s career as he knew it, was over. 

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It all started around 5 a.m. when Forbes published an article, detailing Schnatter’s media-training conference call. According to sources cited in the post, the former Papa John’s boss was coached on how to deal and respond to racial issues, in the wake of his controversial statement about NFL protests. However, amid the media-training, Schnatter was quoted saying, “Colonel Sanders called blacks n*gg**s,” but never faced backlash.

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As he continued, sources say he “also reflected on his early life in Indiana, where, he said, people used to drag African-Americans from trucks until they died,” in an effort to prove that he believed racism was wrong, but many were offended. 

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By 10:30 a.m., the company began damage control, but that didn’t stop the its stock from plummeting, sliding below $48. One hour later, the news hit social media, which prompted a response from Schnatter. 

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By almost 4 p.m., Schnatter was ordered to step down from his role as a university trustee with Louisville, his name was removed from his hometown landmarks, and by 5 pm, he had resigned.