Louisville Football Players Call for Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium Name Change

Two players are asking for the change after Papa John's owner admitted to using racial slur.

papa john's
Dez Fitzpatrick #87 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates with Seth Dawkins #5 of the Louisville Cardinals after he scored a touchdown against the Kent State Golden Flashes during the second half at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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Two Louisville wide receivers are asking for their stadium’s name to be changed after Papa John’s owner John Schnatter admitted to using a racial slur. The Cardinals play in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and wide receivers Jaylen Smith and Seth Dawkins took to Twitter to request the name change.

However, Schnatter owns the stadium’s naming rights and not Papa John’s, reports Sports Illustrated. On Wednesday, Schnatter admitted to suing a racial slur during a May conference call and released an apology.

“News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true,” Schnatter said, according to Sports Illustrated. “Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”

He also resigned from the university’s board of trustees and stepped down as chairman of his company.

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