Papa John's removed from stadium name
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville is removing Papa John’s from its football stadium’s name after a report the pizza chain’s founder used a racial slur.
The company’s logo has been on Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium since it was built 20 years ago.
John Schnatter, who also resigned from the university’s board of trustees, apologized this week for using the racial slur during a company conference call in May.
University of Louisville President Neeli Bendapudi said the “community has been fractured” by Schnatter’s comments. The school is also removing Schnatter’s name from its Center for Free Enterprise at the business school.
“These comments were hurtful and unacceptable, and they do not reflect the values of our university,” Bendapudi wrote in an open letter to the university community. She said the new name would be Cardinal Stadium.
Schnatter said Friday he is “distraught” over the comment he made.
“Anything I say or do that hurts the people I care about ... is upsetting, it’s not right,” Schnatter said in an interview with WHAS-AM, a Louisville station. The interview was recorded before the name change announcement.
“What I wanted to make sure is we got the apology out,” he said. “We don’t condone racism in any way.
