While many companies have put out statements in support of protesters questioning police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in police custody, others have taken other tacks. The latest there is CrossFit, where CEO Greg Glassman created a lot of controversy with a tweet this weekend. On Saturday, the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation put out a tweet discussing racism and discrimination as “critical public health issues.” Glassman, whose Twitter account is “CrossFitCEO,” responded with “It’s FLOYD-19,” an apparent reference to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic:
https://twitter.com/CrossFitCEO/status/1269404726581288960
Glassman followed that up with a further complaint Sunday about the institute’s recommendations for preventing the spread of COVID-19:
https://twitter.com/CrossFitCEO/status/1269691293958991877
After Floyd’s initial tweet, long-time CrossFit sponsor Reebok said they would be cutting ties with the company as of 2021. Peter Verry of FootwearNews has more on that:
“Our partnership with CrossFit HQ comes to an end later this year. 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,” Reebok said in a statement emailed to FN. “We will fulfill our remaining contractual obligations in 2020. We owe this to the CrossFit Games competitors, fans and the community.”
“What doesn’t change is our commitment and dedication to CrossFitters and the passionate CrossFit community. We’re so thankful for the strong bonds we’ve created with coaches, box owners and athletes around the world over the past 10 years. We want to especially thank Dave Castro, Nicole Carroll, Andy Stumpf, Steve Weiss and Jimi Letchford, who were instrumental in ensuring Reebok was welcomed by the community, so that we could do our part to help more people improve their lives through fitness.”
And several CrossFit affiliates have parted ways with the company as well, including Nick Hurdon of CrossFit Magnus in Portland:
https://twitter.com/NickHurndon/status/1269464915355394050
So this approach doesn’t seem to be working out too well for Glassman and CrossFit.
