John Schnatter

John Hampton "Papa John" Schnatter (born November 22, 1961) is an American entrepreneur who founded the Papa John's pizza restaurant chain in 1984. Schnatter started the business in the back of his father's tavern after selling his car and using the proceeds to purchase used restaurant equipment. As of 2017, his net worth was more than $1 billion. Schnatter stepped down as CEO on January 1, 2018, after controversy around his comments that the National Football League (NFL), who had a business affiliation with Papa John's, had not done enough to stop national anthem protests by NFL players, and that the protests had hurt his business. Before he stepped down, his comments had resulted in the NFL cancelling its association with Papa John's. After stepping down as CEO, Schnatter remained the chairman of the board of directors until July 2018, when controversy had arisen as it was revealed that he had used a racial slur during an internal sensitivity training conference call in May of the same year, claiming without evidence that Colonel Sanders had used the same word without backlash. Schnatter resigned when the comment became public, but has since maintained that the board conspired against him and unfairly forced him out of his position.