Many members from the CrossFit community made statements after company CEO Greg Glassman sparked outrage over Twitter, responding to a tweet from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that stated "Racism is a public health issue." The CEO commented "it's FLOYD-19."
After much backlash in the community and on social media, Glassman took to CrossFit's Twitter account, 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."
.@CrossFitCEO: "I, CrossFit HQ, and the CrossFit community will not stand for racism. I made a mistake by the words I chose yesterday.
— CrossFit (@CrossFit) June 8, 2020
My heart is deeply saddened by the pain it has caused. It was a mistake, not racist but a mistake.
NorCalFit, also known as NCFIT, announced they will no longer be a CrossFit affiliate Sunday evening.
"Our mission at NCFIT is to live better and living better means nothing while standing by in the face of racism, injustice, and hate," NCFIT said in an Instagram post. "This week, our team will be releasing our full efforts on how we plan to both immediately support the Black community and all people of color as well as take steps to evolve our company’s policies to ensure that our core values are never compromised."
Glassman's Twitter comment also caused many CrossFit athletes to speak up about their involvement in the company.
CrossFit athlete Rich Froning took to IGTV Sunday, sharing a video saying he does not condone or support any of the comments made by Greg Glassman over the weekend.
"I can not longer be a part of that," Froning said on IGTV. "For me, loyalty is a huge part of who I am. It's one of my anchor values, and over the past ten or eleven years, CrossFit is something that I have been loyal to."
He went on to say that CrossFit is not about CrossFit HQ or the CrossFit Games, it is about the people and the community that is inclusive and does not divide. Froning said he is still considering what his next steps are and cannot stand with Glassman's comments or beliefs.
Froning is a CrossFit athlete and became the first person to win the title of "Fittest Man on Earth" four straight times with a first place finish from 2011 to 2014 CrossFit Games.
Additionally, athlete Noah Ohlsen posted a black square with text to Instagram saying "I'm out" on Sunday evening. He said his participation in the 2020 CrossFit games will be contingent upon major changes being made.
Ohlsen is ranked second in the nation for the CrossFit games.
