CrossFit CEO Steps Down After Controversial Tweets About George Floyd and Black Lives Matter

CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman has resigned after coming under fire for controversial tweets he made Saturday about George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Glassman, who co-founded the fitness company in 2000, made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday.

“I’m stepping down as CEO of CrossFit, Inc., and I have decided to retire," Glassman, 63, wrote. "On Saturday I created a rift in the CrossFit community and unintentionally hurt many of its members. Since I founded CrossFit 20 years ago, it has become the world’s largest network of gyms. All are aligned in offering an elegant solution to the vexing problem of chronic disease. Creating CrossFit and supporting its affiliates and legions of professional trainers has been a labor of love."

"Those who know me know that my sole issue is the chronic disease epidemic," he added. "I know that CrossFit is the solution to this epidemic and that CrossFit HQ and its staff serve as the stewards of CrossFit affiliates worldwide. I cannot let my behavior stand in the way of HQ’s or affiliates’ missions. They are too important to jeopardize.”

Eduardo Contreras/U-T San Diego via ZUMA Wire/ALamy

On Saturday, Glassman received backlash for his response to a statement on Twitter from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, who said that "racism is a public health issue."

"It’s FLOYD-19," Glassman wrote back, referencing the worldwide protests that began after Floyd was killed while in police custody on May 25, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In a follow-up tweet, Glassman wrote, "Your failed model quarantined us and now you're going to model a solution to racism? George Floyd's brutal murder sparked riots nationally. Quarantine alone is 'accompanied in every age and under all political regimes by an undercurrent of suspicion, distrust, and riots.' Thanks!"

RELATED: CrossFit CEO's Racist Tweet Prompts Many Gyms — and Reebok — to Cut Ties with the Brand

Hours before Glassman's tweets, he reportedly told gym owners on a private 75-minute Zoom call, "We're not mourning for George Floyd — I don't think me or any of my staff are,” according to Buzzfeed News, who acquired a full recording of the meeting.

“Can you tell me why I should mourn for him? Other than that it’s the white thing to do — other than that, give me another reason,” Glassman asked a Minneapolis gym owner who had questioned why the brand had yet to release a statement about Floyd's death.

Linda Davidson / The Washington Post via Getty Greg Glassman

Glassman’s tweet set off an outcry among the thousands of CrossFit gym members, owners, professional athletes and many of the brands that have long been affiliated with it. Reebok, which has been the exclusive maker of all official CrossFit apparel and the title sponsor of the annual CrossFit games for the last 10 years, said that they would drop their affiliation once their contract ends this year.

“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 to Footwear News. “We will fulfill our remaining contractual obligations in 2020. We owe this to the CrossFit Games competitors, fans and the community.”

Several other sponsors, including Rogue, which manufacturers barbells and other weightlifting equipment used in CrossFit, have also dropped their partnerships.

As of Wednesday morning, nearly 500 gyms around the world have also announced they are dropping their CrossFit affiliation, according to a Google Document of now-disaffiliated gyms.

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Professional CrossFit athletes have spoken out against Glassman’s tweet and a growing list have said that they will not continue to back the organization unless they take further action to support the Black community, Morning Chalk Up reported. Five athletes have said that they will decline their invitation to the 2020 CrossFit Games if there is not further action.

As the wave of disaffiliations started, Glassman tweeted out an apology from the main CrossFit account where he claimed that his comments were out of “anger” about the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s statement.

“I, CrossFit HQ, and the CrossFit community will not stand for racism. I made a mistake by the words I chose yesterday,” he said. “My heart is deeply saddened by the pain it has caused. It was a mistake, not racist but a mistake."

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RELATED: Around 500 Gyms Have Disaffiliated from CrossFit In Response to CEO’s Racist Tweet

Prior to Glassman’s tweet, CrossFit was already getting criticism for staying silent about Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter protest while other brands and gyms shared statements of support.

On Saturday, many gyms did a special workout in honor of Floyd, created by Stacy Pugh of Black Power Cleans Lifting Club, “to uplift, honor, and acknowledge the black CrossFit community” in opposition to CrossFit’s silence.