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Louisville takes Papa John's off stadium name due to racial slur

Glenn Beil-USA TODAY Sports

Louisville renamed its football arena Cardinal Stadium on Friday, removing Papa John's from the title after the pizza chain's founder, John Schnatter, admitted to using a racial slur in a May conference call.

University president Neeli Bendapudi made the announcement Friday, adding that Schnatter's name has been taken off of Louisville's business school.

Schnatter resigned as a Louisville trustee on Thursday after the report claiming he had used the N-word surfaced, and also stepped down as chairman of Papa John's. He's been one of Louisville's most prominent boosters.

Schnatter - not Papa John's - still owns naming rights to Cardinal Stadium. The deal runs through 2040, and it's unknown if a buyout clause was put into the agreement when first signed.

Schnatter incited controversy during the 2017 NFL season when he connected Papa John's declining sales to player demonstrations during the national anthem. Papa John's had been the official pizza sponsor of the NFL, but the league replaced it with Pizza Hut amid public backlash.

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