John Schnatter stands next to KFC’s Colonel Sanders and Wendy’s Dave Thomas as one of the most easily recognizable restaurant founders. Papa John himself has announced that he will be stepping down as CEO of the company he built from the ground up. His surprising decision comes just months after he criticized the NFL’s National Anthem protest controversy.
In early November, Schnatter blamed falling pizza sales on the anthem protests. “The controversy is polarizing the customer, polarizing the country,” he said in a now infamous conference call about the company’s earnings. Papa John’s has seen a stock price decline of about 30% since January, nearly a third of that decline came in the weeks after his comment above. The fall has reduced Schnatter’s 9.5 million shares by $84 million according to Deadline.
Schnatter was quickly criticized for his statement and labeled a “racist” after white supremacists thanked him for speaking out against the protest and naming Papa John’s the official pizza of the neo-nazi publication The Daily Stormer.
He formally apologized about the phone call on Twitter last month,
The statements made on our earnings call were describing the factors that impact our business and we sincerely apologize to anyone that thought they were divisive. That definitely was not our intention. (1/3)
— Papa John's Pizza (@PapaJohns) November 15, 2017
We will work with the players and league to find a positive way forward. Open to ideas from all. Except neo-nazis — ?those guys. (3/3)
— Papa John's Pizza (@PapaJohns) November 15, 2017
Schnatter will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie on January 1, 2018. “With 120,000 Papa John’s corporate and franchise employees, Steve will put the spotlight on our pizza and the most important ingredient — our team members,” Schnatter said in a statement about his company’s future. “We couldn’t have a more proven leader to guide Papa John’s through its next stage of growth.”