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| Outside view of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, home of the Louisville Cardinals college football team, in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo by Thomas Kelley/Shutterstock |
By The Sports Xchange
The University of Louisville will strip the Papa John's name from its football stadium and rename it Cardinal stadium, school president Neeli Bendapudi announced on Friday.
The move came after John Schnatter, the pizza chain founder, admitted earlier this week that he used the "N-word" during an internal conference call.
[post_ads]As a result of the public backlash, Schnatter resigned from the university's board of trustees and as Papa John's chairman.
Bendapudi added that Louisville will take Schnatter's name off its business school and the changes are effective immediately.
"By taking this action, we renew our community's commitment to speaking up when it matters, doing what is right, and coming together as one team -- our Cardinal family -- to heal and move forward," Bendapudi said at a news conference.
Bendapudi said she has informed Papa John's and Schnatter of her decision. She added Schnatter was contrite, apologetic and supported the move because he didn't want to be a distraction.
The naming-rights deal for the football stadium were unique because the school's deal was with Schnatter, not the Papa John's brand. The deal provides that if he leaves the company, Schnatter can rename the building. The deal with the university was scheduled to go through 2040.
Bendapudi said the university has not yet worked out the financial details for removing the name and added the school is not seeking a new naming rights deal at this time.
Several football players tweeted on Thursday they wanted to see the Papa John's name removed from the stadium.
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