If it wasn’t so funny it would be sad, and if it wasn’t so sad it would be funny.
Papa John’s founder John Schnatter, who somehow made hundreds of millions of dollars without a shred of self-awareness (there’s hope for me yet, I suppose), has opted not to go away, count his money, and watch the value of his shares of Papa John’s stock continue to rise, due in large part to his departure from the company. Instead, Schnatter wants back in.
Via Deadspin.com, the Wall Street Journal obtained a letter that Schnatter sent to the Papa John’s board of directors on Saturday, which apparently attempts to revoke his decision to resign as the board’s chairman.
“The board asked me to step down as chairman without apparently doing any investigation. I agreed, though today I believe it was a mistake to do so,” Schnatter said. “I will not allow either my good name or the good name of the company I founded and love to be unfairly tainted.”
The letter came a day after Schnatter’s 28-minute radio interview during which he claimed that he was “pushed” to use a racial slur during a May conference call with a marketing firm — and during which he made clear his and the company’s disdain for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In the letter, Schnatter again admits to using the slur during the conference call.
During his radio interview, Schnatter downplayed the possibility of litigation against the marketing firm that he believes leaked his remarks because he “hate lawyers.” But they all hate lawyers until they need one, John, and it sounds like you’ll be needing a small army of them to help you get your hands back on the wheel of the company you decided to take public.