Greg Glassman is no longer the CEO of CrossFit after his flippant comment regarding the anti-racism protests sweeping the nation sparked outrage. "On Saturday I created a rift in the CrossFit community and unintentionally hurt many of its members," he said in a statement announcing his resignation and retirement. "Since I founded CrossFit 20 years ago, it has become the world’s largest network of gyms. All are aligned in offering an elegant solution to the vexing problem of chronic disease. ... Those who know me know that my sole issue is the chronic disease epidemic. I know that CrossFit is the solution to this epidemic ... I cannot let my behavior stand in the way of HQ’s or affiliates’ missions. They are too important to jeopardize." BuzzFeed reports that before Glassman's public misstep, he also told employees on a Zoom call he was "not mourning for George Floyd" when asked why CrossFit had not put out a statement about Floyd's death at the hands of police.
Dave Castro, director of the CrossFit Games, will replace Glassman as CEO, CNN reports. "Our community is hurt," he says in his own statement. "Our shared bond brings together millions of people with differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences. Friction is inevitable. Common ground, mutual respect, and fellowship must also be inevitable." After Glassman's initial defense of his comments (read more about the controversy here; he used the term "FLOYD-19" in response to a tweet about racism as a public health issue), he assured people that "the CrossFit community will not stand for racism," but BuzzFeed spoke to one franchise owner who was on the aforementioned Zoom call and said Glassman's tweet was "nothing compared to the phone call." The attendee said Glassman spewed "conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory" about Floyd, antifa, and the COVID-19 pandemic. (More CrossFit stories.)
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