John Schnatter, aka the “Papa John” of Papa John’s Pizza, has resigned after using a racial slur on a conference call.
According to Forbes Magazine, Schnatter resigned his position as chairman of the board of the company after he was heard using the n-word on a conference call with a marketing agency called Laundry Service.
Schnatter had been complaining of the backlash he’d received for saying Papa John’s, who have an affiliation with the NFL, saw their sales slump because players were protesting the national anthem.
According to reports, Schnatter said “Colonel Sanders called blacks” by the racial slur in question, and didn’t face the same kind of backlash that Schnatter had. Colonel Sanders is the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Schnatter said: “News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media-training session regarding race are true. Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”
Papa John’s currently has 5000 locations around the world, including over 50 outlets in Ireland.
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