Papa Johns founder returns to X after more than a decade

WASHINGTON (TNND) — John Schnatter, the founder of pizza restaurant chain Papa Johns, returned to social media platform X on Wednesday.

“Big shout out to @x team for getting me back on X!” he posted. “Papa’s in the house!”

Schnatter’s last post was in 2013. Five years later, he resigned from his role as chairman of his company's board following a report he said “ni****” during a conference call.

Forbes reported that Schnatter was asked during the call how he would distance himself from racist groups online. He replied by downsizing the significance of his claim that NFL players’ protests during the national anthem were hurting the company, according to the magazine.

“Colonel Sanders called blacks ni****s,” Schnatter reportedly said before telling the callers that KFC founder Harland Sanders never faced backlash from the public for his use of the word.

Schnatter later confirmed reports about his comments, according to Forbes.

"News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true," he reportedly said in a statement. "Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society."

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Six months before that call, Schnatter said during a different one he was disappointed the NFL did not “resolve” protests by players kneeling during the national anthem, according to ESPN.

"Leadership starts at the top, and this is an example of poor leadership,” the network quoted him as saying.

Steve Ritchie, who was CEO of Papa Johns at the time, reportedly said the NFL was behind declining sales. He noted that the company expected the decline to continue until a solution was implemented, according to ESPN.

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.