Papa John's Founder Resigns As Chairman
NEW YORK (CBS NEWS/AP) - Papa John's says founder John Schnatter has resigned as chairman of the board.
The company made the announcement late Wednesday, hours after Schnatter apologized for using a racial slur during a conference call in May.
Forbes said Schnatter used the N-word during a media training exercise and graphically described violence against minorities. When asked how he would distance himself from racist groups, Schnatter reportedly complained that Colonel Sanders never faced a backlash for using the word.
"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 released Wednesday by the company.
"Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society," Schnatter's statement said.
The media-training company working with Papa John's opted to end its business relationship with the pizza company after the call, according to Forbes.
Papa John's initially declined to confirm or deny the report, but said in an emailed statement that the company "condemns racism and any insensitive language, no matter the situation or setting."
The controversy comes only seven months after Schnatter relinquished his CEO role after criticizing National Football League players for kneeling during the national anthem, blaming the outcry surrounding their protests for slowing sales growth at Papa John's, at the time an NFL sponsor and advertiser.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)