Louisville officially dropping Papa John’s name from football stadium
By Adam Spencer
Published:
This week, John “Papa John” Schnatter was in the news again for negative reasons, as it was reported that he used a racial slur during a conference call.
That sparked talk among Louisville football players, who wanted to remove Papa John’s name from the school’s stadium.
On Friday, Louisville president Neeli Bendapudi announced that the stadium would simply be known as “Cardinal Stadium” from now on:
UofL President Neeli Bendapudi announces she has renamed the football stadium simply “Cardinal Stadium”. States she also has the support of the board of trustees for the move. pic.twitter.com/zs9nDFo1wx
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) July 13, 2018
Bendapudi says the decision was hers alone. She took input from others but it is her personal prerogative as president so she made it. Signage will be removed ASAP.
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) July 13, 2018
Bendapudi says she spoke with Schnatter. He apologized. He was contrite and supports the decision to remove the name so as to not be a distraction.
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) July 13, 2018
The naming rights deal is with Schnatter himself, not the Papa John’s company, so it remains to be seen if Schnatter will eventually try to recoup some of the money or not.
For now, though, the university has listened to its players and is trying to distance itself from the man who is once again embroiled in an ugly controversy.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
