Pizza dipshit John Schnatter reportedly resigned from the University of Louisville Board of Trustees Wednesday, after admitting to using the n-word in a conference call with marketing executives in May.
Schnatter emailed a statement to Forbes Wednesday afternoon in which he confirmed reports that he’d referenced lynching and said “Colonel Sanders called blacks n–––s” during a conference call, comments that offended multiple individuals participating in the call:
“News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true,” he said. “Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”
University of Lousville Board of Trustees chairman J. David Grissom confirmed Schnatter’s resignation in a statement reported by the Lexington Herald Leader:
“After speaking with John, I’m confident that his comments, while inappropriate, do not reflect his personal beliefs or values,” Grissom said. “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. The board appreciates his two years of service and thanks him for his generous support for so many years.”
What a dumb year or so it’s been for Schnatter. He resigned from the Louisville Athletics Association Board last April, amid controversy over his public criticism of athletic department leadership. Then, about seven months ago, he stepped down as CEO of Papa John’s, the pizza delivery chain he founded in 1984, after opening his big fat mouth about pregame national anthem protests by NFL players. And who can forget Schnatter getting ruthlessly owned this spring by Rick Pitino, former head coach of Louisville’s men’s basketball team?
Schattner is still Chairman of the Board of Papa John’s pizza, but even that post is in rough shape—Papa John’s shares slid by six percent Wednesday, to a two-year low, following news of Schnatter’s comments, and new CEO Steve Ritchie reportedly sent a memo to “team members, franchisees and operators” addressing Schnatter’s latest controversy, per Bloomberg:
“You may have read the media reports today tied to our company culture. We want to make it clear to all of you that racism has no place at Papa John’s,” according to the memo obtained by Bloomberg News.
“The past six months we’ve had to take a hard look in the mirror and acknowledge that we’ve lost a bit of focus on the core values that this brand was built on and that delivered success for so many years,” Ritchie said. “We’ve got to own up and take the hit for our missteps and refocus on the constant pursuit of better that is the DNA of our brand.”
Pretty impressive how this pizza moron can’t go six months without bringing embarrassment to himself and all his associates.
UPDATE: Schnatter has now resigned as Chairman of the Board of Papa John’s.