Papa John’s begins diversity training after founder departs

Papa John’s will initiate diversity training for employees, three months after the company founder used a racial slur during a conference call.

John Schnatter, who had resigned as CEO last year after blaming poor sales on how the NFL handled player protests, resigned as chairman after the incident was reported by Forbes in July.

Clashes between Schnatter, who is still Papa John’s largest shareholder, and executives at the pizza chain are ongoing. He is suing the company, alleging that his treatment was unfair.

CEO Steve Ritchie said in a letter posted on the Papa John’s website Friday that the company’s leadership team recently completed diversity training, which will now be rolled out companywide for its 120,000 workers.

In a video tweeted to its more than half a million followers, Papa John’s showed some of the angry tweets it received and said “We heard you.” It thanked customers for their honesty and concluded: “It is making us better.”