Papa John’s founder quits after using slur

The founder of Papa John’s Pizza quit his company’s chairman seat Wednesday night after apologizing for hurling a racial slur during a sensitivity training call.

John Schnatter resigned from the 33-year-old pizza chain after his profane use of a racial slur from May surfaced and the Papa John’s International Inc., stock spiraled.

“News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true. Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place,” founder John Schnatter said in a statement, hours before he stepped down.

Shares of Papa John’s fell by up to 6 percent in intraday trading, wiping out roughly $96 million in market value.

The stock rebounded slightly at closing, down 4.8 percent.

The company said it would begin its search for a new board chairman.

Schnatter, 56, used the slur during an exercise designed to help him avoid scandal after he blamed protesting NFL athletes for dipping profits.

During the conference call, when asked how he would distance himself from racist rhetoric, Schnatter brought up the kneeling debate.

“Colonel Sanders called blacks ‘n__-s,’” Schnatter said, according to Forbes.

He then complained Sanders was never publicly condemned for his remarks.