Four-time winner of the CrossFit Games, Rich Froning, has said he can no longer follow a sport that preaches division, after a controversial tweet by the CrossFit CEO. Other high-profile athletes have boycotted the CrossFit Games until changes are made to the organisation’s management.
On Saturday, CEO Greg Glassman tweeted “Floyd-19” in reply to a post from the Institution for Health Metrics and Evaluation about the link between racism and public-health, adding that their model for lockdown had failed.
George Floyd was killed when a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes during an arrest on May 25. The death caused protests across the US against systemic racism, despite the Covid-19 lockdown and social distancing rules.
Glassman has since apologised for using Floyd’s name to make his point, but insists it was not a racist tweet.
Froning took to Instagram to condemn the tweet. He said: “The comments this weekend only divide. At this time, in the world we live in right now, we don’t need comments or people to divide us even further, we need to come together. I feel like if I was continue to follow along with someone who was going to preach division, and not bring us together, I would be going against who I am as a person.”
Sponsors abandon CrossFit after CEO’s George Floyd tweet
Froning, an important figure in the world of CrossFit, stopped short of announcing his departure from the sport, but indicated he could sever his ties with the body. CrossFit gyms pay a fee to be affiliated with the brand, and Froning’s comments appear to indicate his influential gym, Mayhem, will end its affiliation.
“I want to say thank you to all our Mayhem family and anyone who supports us, we will continue to be part of the community that is inclusive, that is uplifting and we hope you will be to, but we cannot and will not stand with the comments made by Greg Glassman this weekend,” Froning said.
Froning said that he is “loyal” to CrossFit, but that to him CrossFit is not the CEO or the organisation, but the people and the community.
Two of the organisation’s main sponsors, Reebok and Rogue, both withdrew from CrossFit following the CEO’s comments.
Reebok cut its ties completely, while Rogue has removed CrossFit’s logo from its annual Invitational competition and is considering a course of action depending on how the organisation responds to Glassman’s tweet.
CrossFit CEO sorry for ‘Floyd-19’ tweet – ‘a mistake, not racist’
Chandler Smith, one of the sport’s most high-profile black athletes, said he will not compete in the 2020 CrossFit Games until changes are made, along with a picture that read “I’m out”.
“I have yet to speak on anything going on for fear of retribution and must remain apolitical due to the nature of my job,” Smith wrote on Instagram.
“This decision puts me in a very vulnerable position with both work and my desired future career as a [CrossFit Games] athlete. However, I do not believe choosing to avoid participation in this year’s event is a violation of duties: to my job, to the sport, or to my ethics.”
Noah Ohlsen, who finished second at the 2019 CrossFit Games, said his participation in the 2020 Games will be contingent on changes being made to CrossFit: “Right now, I’m taking action. The repercussions of this could be huge. I’ve weighed them and my belief in this is stronger than their potential outcomes.”
Katrin Davidsdottir, the 2015 and 2016 CrossFit Games champion, posted on Instagram that she was “ashamed, disappointed and angry”.
“I haven’t had much time to process this, organise my thoughts or speak to those involved so for the time being I am going to keep it at this. I don’t know what this means for myself or the sport. But for now: I know this is NOT RIGHT and that needs to be said,” she added.
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Froning condemns George Floyd tweet, athletes boycott CrossFit Games - South China Morning Post
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