In the wake of the downfall of John Schnatter—the former CEO and founder of Papa John’s Pizza—amid the use of racist remarks, academics believe that educational institutions and other companies can learn from the organization’s mistake going forward.
Back in May, it was discovered that Schnatter used the ‘n-word’ during a conference call. According to Forbes, the call involved an acting exercise that was intended to give Schnatter knowledge in handling difficult issues.
Dr. Rochelle Parks-Yancy, a professor of management at Texas Southern University’s Jesse H. Jones School of Business, said companies need to be aware that nothing is private, especially in the age of technology.
“Certainly, I think any organization should presume that you’re going to be recorded,” said Parks-Yancy. “So, before you engage in language or conduct that you would not want the entire world to know, you should presume that at some point in time, this may come out and it may harm your business, it may harm your brand and so on.”
Since the Papa John’s scandal was made public, many professional sports teams and most recently, colleges and universities have responded by cutting ties with the pizza chain.
“When a brand is built around an individual, as Papa John’s is, that individual has enormous power to build and damage the brand,” said Steve Quigley, an associate professor of public relations at Boston University, adding that Schnatter’s decision to step into the NFL ‘take a knee’ controversy heightened the scrutiny he was likely to receive. “It’s an emotionally charged issue and he chose to draw the spotlight to himself. A fine idea if you behave responsibly. Not so smart if you employ emotionally charged racial epithets.”
Because he was a member of the board of trustees at The University of Louisville, the school was the first to respond to the incident and announced that they were changing their football stadium’s name from Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium to Cardinal Stadium. In addition, Schnatter resigned from the board.
