MLB: Marlins and Rays suspend all ties with Papa John’s following Schnatter’s use of N-word

John Schnatter, the American businessman who founded Papa John’s Pizza and who used the N-word during a telephone conference call last May, resigned as Papa John’s CEO and then resigned as Papa John’s chairman of the board earlier this month.  During the ensuing public furor and backlash over Schnatter’s use of the N-word, many businesses and organizations have been cutting ties with the pizza chain, according to Forbes.

Only a few days after he resigned as chairman of the board, MLB teams began suspending ties with Papa John’s.  By July 13, according to the Washington Post, almost ten MLB teams had suspended their business dealings with Papa John’s.

Two of those teams include the Tampa Bay Rays and the Miami Marlins.  The Marlins wasted no time disassociating themselves with Papa John’s.  On July 12 the Marlins released the following statement:

“The Marlins are committed to an inclusive environment for all of our fans. Mr. Schnatter’s derogatory and insensitive comments are not at all reflective of the values of our organization. As such, the Marlins are immediately suspending our relationship and promotions with the Papa John’s brand.”

By July 18, the Rays released a statement saying that “We support the recent actions taken by Papa John’s corporate headquarters to remove John Schnatter from the company. Racism has no place in society, and we condemn Mr. Schnatter’s remarks. Papa John’s corporate team has committed to taking significant action steps to move beyond this incident, including a third-party audit of processes, policies and systems related to diversity and inclusion, supplier engagement and Papa John’s culture; as well as establishing transparent goals and a communication process to monitor them that will be applied across all stores.”

Days after his use of the N-word in that conference call, Schnatter e-mailed Forbes wherein he stated, “News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true,” he said. “Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”

~ Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter