Louisville removing Papa John’s name from football stadium
The fallout over some racist comments Papa John’s founder John Schnatter made recently continued on Friday, as the University of Louisville announced that it is dropping the popular pizza chain’s name from its football stadium.
Louisville president Neeli Bendapudi said in a press conference that she has decided to rename the school’s football stadium “Cardinal Stadium.” She also said Schnatter called her to apologize and supports the decision.
UofL President Neeli Bendapudi announces she has renamed the football stadium simply “Cardinal Stadium”. States she also has the support of the board of trustees for the move. pic.twitter.com/zs9nDFo1wx
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) July 13, 2018
Bendapudi says she spoke with Schnatter. He apologized. He was contrite and supports the decision to remove the name so as to not be a distraction.
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) July 13, 2018
Schnatter resigned as board chairman of Papa John’s this week after news became public that he used the N-word during a conference call in May. Major League Baseball and several others sports teams and organizations have moved quickly to distance themselves from Papa John’s.
Last year, Schnatter stepped down as CEO of Papa John’s after blaming NFL player protests for his company’s slow sales.
