CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman Apologizes for Insensitive George Floyd Twitter Comment

Peter Verry
·3 min read

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After CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman made an insensitive remark about George Floyd on Twitter, Reebok and several affiliates announced they were ending their partnerships. Since then, Glassman has offered an apology on the social media platform.

“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,” Glassman said via the @CrossFit handle. “Floyd is a hero in the black community and not just a victim. I should have been sensitive to that and wasn’t. I apologize for that. I was trying to stick it to the @IHME_UW for their invalidated models resulting in needless, economy-wrecking, life-wrecking lockdown, and when I saw they were announcing modeling a solution to our racial crisis, I was incredulous, angry, and overly emotional. Involving George Floyd’s name in that effort was wrong.”

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Glassman’s statement continued, “It’s our hope that his murder catalyzes real change resulting in a level playing field for our black brothers and sisters. Please hear me when I say, we stand by our community to fight for justice. I care about you, our community, and I am here for you.”

On June 4, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation posted a tweet stating, “Racism and discrimination are critical public health issues that demand an urgent response, wherever they occur.” Glassman responded to the tweet: “It’s FLOYD-19.”

Reebok responded to Glassman’s remark by ending its partnership with the organization.

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

The statement continued, “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.”

Glassman’s comment was made as protests ramped up worldwide over the death of Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

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