Orlando Magic suspend partnership with Papa John's

By Colin Wolf on Fri, Jul 13, 2018 at 4:57 pm

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Orlando Magic suspend partnership with Papa John's

Photo via Papa John's/Facebook

The Orlando Magic have officially suspended their partnership with Papa John's after news broke earlier this week that former chairman John Schnatter said the N-word during a media training exercise back in May.

The basketball organization made the announcement on Twitter Friday evening, officially halting their relationship with the pizza-like franchise.

Orlando Magic statement on Papa John’s partnership suspension

“As we said yesterday, the Orlando Magic in no way, shape or form condones the actions of Papa John’s chairman and thus after review have made the decision to suspend our partnership.”
— Orlando Magic PR (@Magic_PR) July 13, 2018

Before today's announcement, the Orlando Magic offered fans Papa John's discounts, like 50 percent off pizza after a Magic win.

Schnatter resigned as chairman on Wednesday amid a growing uproar about his comments, which according to Forbes, included statements like "Colonel Sanders called blacks n——-s," and complaining that he never got any backlash. Schnatter also referred to his early life in Indiana, where, he said, "people used to drag African-Americans from trucks until they died."

Schnatter also famously blamed slumping pizza sales on NFL players protesting during the national anthem.

Orlando City Soccer Club has yet to say if they will continue their relationship with Papa John's.

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