Greg Glassman, who co-founded CrossFit in Santa Cruz 20 years ago, has apologized for controversial Twitter posts he made about racial inequality protests after Reebok and others severed ties with his company.
Glassman’s Sunday night apology came a day after he responded to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation’s tweet about “Racism is a Public Health Issue” by flippantly tweeting “It’s Floyd-19,” a reference to George Floyd and the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s FLOYD-19.
— Greg Glassman (@CrossFitCEO) June 6, 2020
The May 25th death of Floyd, who was African American, sparked worldwide protests after video showed a white Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes.
In another tweet, Glassman took aim at the health research organization for trying to design a “solution to racism” after saying the institute’s quarantine-based coronavirus model had already failed.
.@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
Glassman used his company’s Twitter account to write, “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.”
He went on to further explain himself by noting that “Floyd is a hero in the black community and not just a victim. I should have been sensitive to that and wasn’t.”
The 63-year-old Glassman’s apology came after Reebok, a longtime partner with CrossFit, pulled the plug on its negotiations on a new contract.
“Our partnership with CrossFit HQ comes to an end later this year,” Reebok told the Associated Press. “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.”
Gyms around the country affiliated with CrossFit also recoiled from Glassman’s comments. Many posting notices on social media that they were ending their affiliation with the fitness company.
In addition, some notable CrossFit champions have expressed their outrage over Glassman’s tweets.
Rich Froning, a four-time CrossFit Games champion, used an Instagram post to criticize Glassman while saying it’s “impossible to say loyal to leadership who make callous statements that alienate and divide in a time when unity is needed.”
Tia-Clair Toomey, another CrossFit Games winner, said in an Instagram post that her future with CrossFit “is unclear and depends on the direction of HQ.”
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