Shaquille O’Neal Added to Papa John’s Board of Directors After N-Word Controversy

Basketball great Shaquille O’Neal has been added as a member of the Board of Directors at Papa John’s, according to reports.

Shaq announced the news on his Instagram account with a statement about the company and how much he loves their product, TMZ reported.

View this post on Instagram

Time for a pizza party! I’m excited to join @PapaJohns as a member of the Board of Directors and as an investor in nine stores in #Atlanta. A link to the full announcement is in my bio.

A post shared by DR. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL Ed.D. (@shaq) on Mar 22, 2019 at 6:32am PDT

“I am so excited to be joining the Papa John’s family as a member of the Board of Directors, a soon-to-be investor in nine Papa John’s franchises in Atlanta and an ambassador for the brand,” Shaq wrote.

“I know that behind every large company, there are thousands of people that put their heart and soul into the business,” O’Neal said. “Papa John’s is no different, and it struck a chord with me that the company is putting in the work to do better within its walls and in the communities it serves across the country.”

The last time the pizza chain was in the news it was over the hubbub whipped up by former CEO John Schnatter’s use of the N-Word during a company training call. Schnatter disputed claims he used the word inappropriately but was eventually removed from the company he founded.

Schnatter later said that resigning from the company was a mistake.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.