Papa John’s has quickly gone from one of America’s favorite pizza chains to the pizza company preferred by racists everywhere. That’s because its founder can’t seem to help himself when it comes to blurting out his racist beliefs for all the country to hear. It’s gotten him in hot water recently and on Monday he was officially evicted from Papa John’s headquarters and removed from all its marketing materials.
The move toward his ousting began in November 2017, when he went on record blaming the national anthem protests by NFL players as hurting both ratings and his business profits. He suggested that the players actions were dividing consumers and the country. Those statements earned him high-praise from white supremacists—in fact, the Daily Stormer, a popular blog among racist scum, designated Papa John’s as the official pizza of the alt-right. As a result of the ensuing controversy, Schnatter stepped down as CEO but remained chairman of the board.
You’d have thought Schnatter might have learned his lesson after that. Instead, Schnatter decided to double down on his racism. On a conference call in May with company executives and a marketing agency, Schnatter was asked about distancing himself from racist groups online. He reportedly responded “Colonel Sanders called blacks n-----s.” Apparently, Schnatter admires the fact that Colonel Sanders was allegedly an open racist who never faced backlash or a loss of profits. He then went on to talk about his childhood in Indiana, where blacks were dragged by trucks until they eventually died. Though he claims that these statements were supposed to convey his disregard for racism, clearly Schnatter has a penchant for saying offensive, inappropriate and racist things. And that is what’s impacting his bottom line and his livelihood, not protests by NFL players. In the last week since this news about the conference call came to light, several sports teams and organizations have cut ties with Papa john’s including: the New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, Washington Nationals, University of Louisville, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Major League Baseball.
So now that he’s been given the boot, Schnatter’s founder’s agreement with the company has also been terminated. He has been removed as the face and voice of the company and is being asked to refrain from media appearances. But here’s the rub. Even though he’s seemingly facing the consequences of his actions, Schnatter is still on the board and continues to own 30 percent of the shares in the company. This is where we have to question how far companies are actually willing to go in order to take a stand against racism.
The fact that Schnatter remains tied to the company, still has a say on the board and decision-making by way of his shares and will still profit handsomely, certainly sends a message that racism is tolerated to a degree. Imagine how not getting rid of him completely makes customers of color feel, or better yet, employees of color. It definitely does not foster consumer confidence. And while some people may not have choices to just up and leave their employment at Papa John’s, unless you are a white supremacist, it’s really not fun to work in a place where the boss is openly racist and hostile to black people.
This latest move to sever some ties with Schnatter will certainly hurt the company’s profits, which is fair punishment. But it also shows us that some companies and boards aren’t willing to completely oust rich, openly racist white men and will continue to allow them to profit regardless of their racism. And so it is that Schnatter will continue to work with the company and make money, even if his face and name aren’t everywhere associated with it. The good news is that there are many other pizza chains out there. Ones that are far better and don’t serve up racism as a topping or as a business model. A word to the wise: spend your money at those places instead so that you aren’t funding Schnatter and his racism.