Īfter the incident, Ritchie apologized in an open letter, and ordered the company's workforce to undergo bias and diversity training. Schnatter resigned as chairman of the board on the day the incident was reported. After the call, the owner of the marketing agency moved to end their contract with Papa John's. On July 11, 2018, news outlets reported that during a conference call with Papa Johns' marketing agency Laundry Service, Schnatter had used the word "nigger" by saying " Colonel Sanders called blacks niggers and Sanders never faced public backlash." Schnatter said that referencing the quote by the KFC founder was meant to convey his dislike for racism. In February 2018, Papa John's and the NFL ended their sponsorship agreement after Schnatter's criticism of the NFL made headlines. On January 1, 2018, John Schnatter stepped down as CEO of Papa John's Pizza in favor of company President Steve Ritchie Schnatter remained chairman. The day is now celebrated annually by bitcoin enthusiasts as "Bitcoin Pizza Day", on May 22. The swap involved an agreement to trade 10,000 bitcoins for two large Papa John's pizzas. On May 22, 2010, the first ever Bitcoin transaction was made between Laszlo Hanyecz and Jeremy Sturdivant. In 2009, Schnatter bought the Camaro back after offering a reward of $250,000 for the car. A year later it had 500 stores, and by 1997 it had opened 1,500 stores. Dipping sauce specifically for pizza was invented by Papa John's Pizza that same year, and has since become popular when eating pizza, especially the crust. His pizzas proved sufficiently popular that a year later he moved into an adjoining space. He then sold his 1971 Camaro Z28 to purchase US$1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to the tavern's customers out of the converted closet. The Papa John's restaurant was founded in 1984 when "Papa" John Schnatter knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father's tavern, Mick's Lounge, in Jeffersonville, Indiana.