CrossFit’s Chief Knowledge Officer doubles down on denying the Pride event, fired by corporate
INDIANAPOLIS — A CrossFit location in Indianapolis started losing members after cancelling an Pride workout session. And CrossFit’s Chief Knowledge Officer decided to double down.
Crossfit Infiltrate in downtown Indianapolis cancelled a Pride themed workout in a recent email to members. In response, according to TV station RTV6, many members and some staff are quitting.
From RTV6:
The email in question from ownership came from Brandon Lowe. Lowe told another member the goal of the gym is total health and well-being for the individual and community. The email went on to say “We believe that true health forever can only be found within humility – not pride.”
Lowe sent RTV6 a statement about the cancellation of the workout, saying, in part “The gym has a history of welcoming and serving people training to be fit.” and “The gym never has and never will be anything but welcoming to all human beings who live, move and breathe and God’s world.”
David Clayton also canceled his membership. He would drive 25 minutes to attend class.
“To me, it was very sad and shortsighted of the ownership to cancel this special workout we were gonna do,” Clayton said. “This should be a place where people feel safe to come and do a workout.”
Some coaches and management at the gym also resigned as a result of the decision by Lowe.
Usually when an affiliate or franchisee creates controversy, the corporation will distance themselves from the affiliate. This is what CrossFit Chief Knowledge Officer Russell Berger said in a now-deleted tweet:
This did not go over well with people, even in relatively conservative Indianapolis.
It’s hard to be “welcoming” when you call our immutable characteristics “sin”. The response was nothing more than informing the public of their stance. To be fair, they didn’t even call it sin. They framed it as celebrating the deadly sin of pride, missing the point entirely.
— Tim Boyer (@TimDanBoyer) June 6, 2018
I’m proud of all the coaches and members that stand by their #LGBTQ friends, brothers and sisters and have quit this proudly intolerant box. The gym has a right to believe what they want, but the members and employees do too. The only thing I’m intolerant of is intolerance.
— C Knight (@cookindiggin) June 6, 2018
So calling a celebration of an immutable characteristic a “sin” is OK, but disagreeing with that statement and calling it homophobic is intolerant?
— Jack Schillaci (@jackschillaci) June 6, 2018
I agree, intolerance is mind blowing, yours not the LGBTQ community. I hope that you are terminated by @CrossFit for your profound ignorance. Your comfort in lauding your own bigotry in such a public format is alarming and I wonder what you say/do off line. cc: @CrossFitCEO
— ekl (@ekl79) June 6, 2018
So far, the only response from CrossFit’s CEO Gregg Glassman was this through the official CrossFit Twitter account:
“I am crazy proud of the gay community in CrossFit.”
— CrossFit (@CrossFit) June 6, 2018
That’s it.
UPDATE 4:14 p.m.: Berger may now be looking for a new job. From the official CrossFit Twitter:
Effective immediately, Russell Berger has been placed on unpaid leave while management completes a thorough review.
— CrossFit (@CrossFit) June 6, 2018
Update 8 p.m.: At 6:45 p.m. Eastern Time, CrossFit announced that Berger has been fired.
The statements made today by Russell Berger do not reflect the views of CrossFit Inc. For this reason, his employment with CrossFit has been terminated.
— CrossFit (@CrossFit) June 6, 2018