Lawyers: Papa John no racist

Papa John’s founder John Schnatter’s use of the N-word in a 2018 conference call — which led to him stepping down as chairman — was not racist and the episode was widely misreported, according to an investigation commissioned by his lawyers.

The investigation’s results, released Monday by Louis Freeh, a former FBI director and federal judge, were based in part on what was described as a “background” investigation into Schnatter’s past relationships with co-workers, friends and prominent African Americans.

“A thorough examination by FGIS found that the public comments by Mr. Schnatter were neither intended nor can reasonably be interpreted to reflect any racial bias, prejudice, or disrespect for African Americans or people of color,” the report said.

Investigators reviewed the transcript of the call between Schnatter (right) and marketing agency Laundry Service. It’s been reported, and confirmed by Schnatter in a subsequent apology, that while discussing football players taking a knee during the national anthem he said, “Colonel Sanders called blacks n--ers” and never faced a backlash.

Many media outlets, the findings said, failed to provide further context into the comments. The report found that Schnatter’s reputation with prominent Africans Americans further validated the assessment that “Mr. Schnatter had no prejudicial intent or racial animus when he made the public comments.”