U of L is pulling Papa John's off Cardinal Stadium after N-word scandal

Morgan Watkins | Courier Journal

The University of Louisville announced Friday it is changing the name of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, two days after news broke that John Schnatter, the company's founder, used a highly offensive racial slur.

U of L President Neeli Bendapudi said the football facility's new name would be Cardinal Stadium, effective immediately.

She made the call to drop the "Papa John's" moniker — a unilateral decision that she said was supported by the school's board of trustees, which Schnatter himself resigned from mere hours after the scandal started.

Bendapudi — the first person of color and first woman to ever serve as the university's permanent president — said it was her prerogative and her responsibility to make this decision.

She said she informed Schnatter and Papa John's International about the name change. But the right to alter the name of the stadium belongs to Schnatter as part of an agreement made in return for pledged donations.

Bendapudi, who noted that Schnatter's comments "fractured" the U of L community, said the university is familiar with the contract and understands there may be potential consequences, such as a lawsuit.

The Papa John's signs will be removed from the building. Bendapudi said she doesn't know how long that will take but the university will move quickly. She also said the university isn't looking for another sponsor right now.

What we know: Papa John's founder John Schnatter N-word scandal

On Wednesday, Schnatter admitted to and apologized for using the N-word after Forbes reported he said it during a conference call in May. That day, he resigned as chairman of the company he founded as well as from Louisville's board of trustees.

"These comments were hurtful and unacceptable, and they do not reflect the values of our university," Bendapudi wrote in a letter to the university community. "By taking this action, we renew our community's commitment to speaking up when it matters, doing what is right, and coming together as one team — our Cardinal family — to heal and move forward. The brightest days for this university are still ahead."

The uproar over Schnatter's slur marked the first major controversy of Bendapudi's tenure, which began in May.

A growing chorus of criticism followed Schnatter’s admission and apology, including tweets from the accounts of U of L football players Jaylen Smith and Seth Dawkins calling for the stadium to be renamed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday he'd "absolutely" remove the Papa John's name if he had the power to do it.

More: Cardinal Stadium is Papa John's to name, but pressure mounts to change it

According to university records, 10 percent of the roughly 23,000 students enrolled last fall were black.

Bendapudi said she thinks Papa John's is "eager, as a company, to show that they are truly committed to diversity" and to figure out a way to help the university move forward. "I trust the company, that they want to do the right thing," she said.

Bendapudi asked people to "please remember" the company has thousands of employees whose livelihoods are involved.

U of L spokesman John Karman said Friday that the university has no plans to stop the sale of Papa John's pizza inside the stadium or elsewhere on campus.

In a local radio interview Friday, Schnatter said his employees are "crushed" by what happened, "and it's all because I was sloppy and I wasn't as sensitive."

“Alls I can do is say I’m sorry and just, you know, walk the talk and make sure that I’m even more careful about anything I do,” he said.

Cardinal Stadium isn't the only place at U of L where references to Schnatter are being eliminated.

Bendapudi said his name also is being scrubbed from the John H. Schnatter Center for Free Enterprise, a research and teaching institute founded with donations from Schnatter and the Charles Koch Foundation.

Like the stadium, there is a formal agreement in place for the free enterprise center. But Bendapudi said Schnatter was supportive of her decision to take his name off the center when she spoke with him and emphasized that he started it to support students.

The University of Kentucky has a similar program, the John H. Schnatter Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise. Late Friday afternoon, UK announced it was removing Schnatter’s name from the institute and ending its related partnership with the John H. Schnatter Family Foundation.

Reporters Jake Lourim and Tim Sullivan contributed to this report. Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/morganw.

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