by Michon Lindstrom – 

LOUISVILLE– Amid outrage over using a racial slur, Papa John’s founder and University of Louisville Board of Trustee member John Schnatter has resigned.

J. David Grisson, chairman of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees, released the following statement in response to the resignation.

“After speaking with John, I’m confident that his comments, while inappropriate, do not reflect his personal beliefs or values. No member of the board of trustees condones racism or insensitive language regardless of the setting. The University of Louisville embraces and celebrates diversity and is a supporter of all its students and stakeholders regardless as to their identity.

John has tendered his resignation from the University of Louisville board of trustees effective immediately. The board appreciates his two years of service and thanks him for his generous support for so many years.”

The announcement comes after Forbes revealed Schnatter used the n-word while on a conference call in May with Papa John’s executives and the marketing agency Laundry Service.

The call was designed to prevent Schnatter from making further public relations snafus. He had previously been in hot water in November 2017 after he blamed the national anthem protests in the NFL for slowing sales at Papa John’s stores. While on the call, Schnatter reportedly downplayed those comments saying “Colonel Sanders called black people n——” without any recourse. He allegedly went on to speak about racist events he saw occur while growing up in Southern Indiana.

Papa John’s corporation did not deny the claims made in the article, instead releasing the following statement.

“Papa John’s condemns racism and any insensitive language, no matter the situation or setting. Our company was built on a foundation of mutual respect and acceptance. One of our core company values is people are priority always (P.A.P.A.) and we are committed to maintaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace for all of our corporate and franchise employees. Diversity is an essential ingredient in our pursuit of providing a better product and better service to our customers and to the communities where we operate and live. We take great pride in the diversity of the Papa John’s family, though diversity and inclusion is an area we will continue to strive to do better.”