CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman announced Tuesday that he will resign from his position and retire, days after his tweets about the coronavirus and the death of George Floyd sparked outrage nationwide. Glassman said he can’t let his actions hurt the company’s mission, which he described as “too important to jeopardize”.
What We Know:
- Following the tweets, Reebok, the official outfitter of the fitness program, said they will end their partnership. On June 8th, Glassman issued an apology, stating “I, CrossFit HQ, and the CrossFit community will not stand for racism. I made a mistake by the words I chose yesterday. My heart is deeply saddened by the pain it has caused. It was a mistake, not racist but a mistake.”
- This apology was not accepted by many of the brand’s partner gyms and collaborators, Morning Chalkup, a CrossFit newsletter, is reporting that over 1000 affiliated gyms intend to end their relationship with CrossFit.
- On June 9th, Buzzfeed reported that in a private, 75 minute Zoom call with gym owners and staff, hours before his tweets on June 6th, Glassman recounted unfounded conspiracy theories about the death of George Floyd, and the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
.@CrossFitCEO: "I, CrossFit HQ, and the CrossFit community will not stand for racism. I made a mistake by the words I chose yesterday.
My heart is deeply saddened by the pain it has caused. It was a mistake, not racist but a mistake.
— CrossFit (@CrossFit) June 8, 2020
- Also on the 9th, CrossFit headquarters published a letter titled “Why didn’t CrossFit just say something?”
- In the letter it stated, “Greg’s statements were incredibly insensitive and hurtful. Please accept our deepest apology … This team is anti-racist. Therefore, we are committed to scrutinizing ourselves internally, continuing to listen to the community, and taking actions in support of change.”
- The letter goes on to describe Glassman as being “responsible for delivering a life-changing and paradigm-altering truth. The methodology he created provides an elegant solution to the problem of chronic disease ravaging our world today.”
Another statement on the CrossFit website issued on the 9th, described Glassman’s exit as a “retirement”. “On Saturday I created a rift in the CrossFit community and unintentionally hurt many of its members … Those who know me know that my sole issue is the chronic disease epidemic. I know that CrossFit is the solution to this epidemic.” Glassman said.
