CrossFit CEO resigns after telling staff: ‘We’re not mourning for George Floyd’

CrossFit’s CEO has stepped down.

CrossFit founder Greg Glassman faced major backlash this weekend when the 63-year-old founder of the branded workout program posted a racist tweet mocking the murder of George Floyd and the current coronavirus pandemic.

And, now, he is out as CEO.

In response to a tweet about racism being a public health crisis, Glassman tweeted, “It’s FLOYD-19.” The uproar from that tweet led to athletic brand Reebok letting its longtime partnership with CrossFit expire. The brand also saw gyms across the country end their affiliations with CrossFit.

CrossFit eventually released an apology for Glassman, but BuzzFeed News recently recovered audio from Glassman’s staff Zoom call where the now-ex-CrossFit CEO floated conspiracy theories about George Floyd’s murder and said, “We’re not mourning for George Floyd — I don’t think me or any of my staff are.”

Shortly after BuzzFeed published the story, Glassman announced his resignation.

View this post on Instagram

👉 link in bio for full statement.

A post shared by CrossFit (@crossfit) on

According to BuzzFeed, the call was 75 minutes, and Glassman dismissed the need to have CrossFit speak out on the systemic racism and police brutality that victimizes the black community. Via BuzzFeed:

“I doubt very much that they’re mourning for Floyd,” Glassman said on the call about protesters and CrossFitters who were looking for the company to speak out. “I don’t think that there’s a general mourning for Floyd in any community.”

Glassman had served as CrossFit’s CEO since co-founding the workout brand that built a large following while charging affiliate gyms a fee to use the “CrossFit” name. Dave Castro will replace Glassman as CEO.

[jwplayer OoiQzY0t-q2aasYxh]

CrossFit CEO’s racist tweet has gyms and Reebok ending their partnerships

Never tweet.

For the past two weeks, much of the nation has mobilized to protest the systemic racism and police brutality that has victimized black communities for decades. And over the course of those two weeks, sports figures have come under fire for their own apparent racism.

Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle was placed on administrative leave after allegations of racism. Bills rookie quarterback Jake Fromm apologized for leaked text messages about “elite white people” owning guns. And Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was criticized for wearing a “Football Matters” shirt while Black Lives Matter rallies were being held nationwide.

You can add CrossFit to that list.

CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman sparked outrage this weekend when the 63-year-old founder of the branded workout program posted a racist tweet mocking the murder of George Floyd and the current coronavirus pandemic. In response to a tweet from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which called racism a public health issue, Glassman replied, “It’s FLOYD-19.”

The tweet immediately drew a harsh reaction throughout the CrossFit community with sponsor, Reebok, announcing that the brand would end its partnership with CrossFit in 2020 once their contract expires. Reebok said via Business Insider:

“Recently, we have been in discussions regarding a new agreement, however, in light of recent events, we have made the decision to end our partnership with CrossFit HQ. We will fulfill our remaining contractual obligations in 2020. We owe this to the CrossFit Games competitors, fans and the community.”

May other affiliate gyms, which pay to use the “CrossFit” name, announced that they would be ending their affiliations with the CrossFit brand.

Glassman eventually doubled down on the tweet.

[jwplayer XleeQX0D-q2aasYxh]