---
title: "John Schnatter Says Resignation Was a Mistake"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/f99974e0-2e3a-4098-ac56-bee4fa0f227a
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/john-schnatter-says-resignation-was-a-mistake-2707189
category: "Pizza"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Pizza"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2018-07-19T14:09:30.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:38:48.753Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/629ce3508cdbf92f2b45ffaa6029002a1749.jpg
---

# John Schnatter Says Resignation Was a Mistake

**TL;DR:** John Schnatter, founder of Papa John's, regrets his resignation and accuses the board of requesting his resignation without investigation. Schnatter claims his use of a racial slur was taken out of context and he will fight to protect his name and the brand's name.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-07-19. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/john-schnatter-says-resignation-was-a-mistake-2707189).*

## Story

Following his surprise resignation last week from the pizza franchise he founded, John Schnatter says he regrets the decision, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal .

In a letter to Papa John’s board of directors, Schnatter accused the board of requesting his resignation without “apparently doing any investigation.”

Schnatter said in the letter that his use of a racial slur, which led to his ouster, was taken out of context and was not meant as a racial epithet.

“I then said something on the order of, Colonel Sanders used the word ‘N,’ (I actually used the word), that I would never use that word, and Papa John’s doesn’t use that word,” he said in his letter.

Schnatter said he will fight publicly to protect his name and the name of the brand he founded.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Papa Johns (company)
- brand reputation (topic)
- founder controversy (topic)
- resignation (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/john-schnatter-says-resignation-was-a-mistake-2707189). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/f99974e0-2e3a-4098-ac56-bee4fa0f227a).