John Schnatter, the founder and ex-CEO of Papa John’s, penned an op-ed for the New York Post to explain away his usage of the N-word.
The piece is rather weak as it’s full of excuses which he hopes exonerate him from any wrongdoing. Here’s a quick refresher on his original comments which landed him in this position.
The call was arranged between Papa John’s executives and marketing agency Laundry Service. It was designed as a role-playing exercise for Schnatter in an effort to prevent future public-relations snafus. Schnatter caused an uproar in November 2017 when he waded into the debate over national anthem protests in the NFL and partly blamed the league for slowing sales at Papa John’s.
On the May call, Schnatter was asked how he would distance himself from racist groups online. He responded by downplaying the significance of his NFL statement. “Colonel Sanders called blacks n—–s,” Schnatter said, before complaining that Sanders never faced public backlash. In the meeting, I expressed frustration over the NFL controversy and paraphrased someone who had purportedly used the n-word on a frequent basis.
See if you can follow along in this snippet of Papa John explaining away being a racist.
In the meeting, I expressed frustration over the NFL controversy and paraphrased someone who had purportedly used the n-word on a frequent basis. In fact, I was expressing my disdain for racism throughout the meeting, which was quite productive and demonstrated Papa John’s commitment to a diverse, positive and enriching environment. For decades, we’ve brought people of all backgrounds together for their mutual benefit, spreading tremendous success to employees, franchisees, partners and shareholders alike.
Flip the page for his full comments on why he’s a victim.