The Day That CrossFit Died

The world is in a state we have never seen before. There is a massively political, social, economic, and civil movement happening everywhere, not to mention a pandemic. I am not here to get into politics, and this blog is strictly coming from the perspective of a knucklehead in the mountains talking about a sport he likes. No political commentary tied to this. Okay, so:

If you haven't heard, CrossFit is basically dead. CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman made some highly insensitive statements on social media given the times, and the ENTIRE CROSSFIT WORLD has revolted in a swift and deliberate fashion. The smallest nobodies to the biggest names have ALL come out against Glassman and refused to support CrossFit Inc any longer. Not only that, but a who's who of the biggest CrossFit gyms in America have disaffiliated completely, in a matter of hours.

NorCal CrossFit is now NCFIT.

CrossFit Invictus is now Invictus Fitness

CrossFit New England is now Community Fitness New England

CrossFit Terminus is now Terminus Strength and ConditioningDogtown CrossFit is now Dogtown Strength, Gymnastics, and Conditioning.

COUNTLESS other gyms have disaffiliated, and countless more have promised disaffiliation upon more planning for a rebrand. At the same time, basically every Games athlete with or without an invite this year have posted in unison that their participation at the CrossFit Games is now in jeopardy, and will not occur without a change in leadership.

Oh, and by the way, Reebok has dropped their sponsorship of CrossFit, as has Rogue. Truly, in a matter of hours really, Greg Glassman managed to take this empire, community, and movement that he created, and watch it get torn to shreds on account of his ignorant actions. It makes me so sad. Warranted? Of course. But it makes me so sad that this larger community needs to be ripped apart and disaffiliated from one another because of the ignorance of one human. It's such a massive bummer that this dude who stood up for (we thought) all of the right things, fought tooth and nail for the health and well being of the world, can turn around and throw it all away in a second. I think I am not alone in expressing just how devastating it really is to those of us so invested in this community.

I'm an optimist; my eyes go to the future. Although CrossFit is lying dead in the water, I'm not ready to call time of death just yet. How can we as a community make sure that this larger community doesn't slip into nothingness? I think about how easy it is to go on vacation anywhere in the world and find a CrossFit gym on the affiliate page to drop into on your journey. I think about how at home that makes me feel, knowing that in that space, anywhere in the world, we are the same. This simply cannot go away. We need to find some way to stay together, without the name CrossFit binding us. But how?

My ideas are as follows:

1) The majority of the current (former?) CrossFit community can band together under a different flag. A friend of mine suggested "Community Fitness" so the CF in many names could stay the same for branding purposes (example: Crossfit New England, CFNE, Community Fitness New England). I don't know who or how this would start, but I imagine it would need to be a big name or company with community sway to start inviting all gyms to band together. Would gyms pay an affiliation fee to a whole new company? Probably not, so I am not sure how that would work. But it's an idea at least.

2). My only other thought, and by far the most simple thought, would be for Glassman to man up and sell the company. Completely step away. Whether he likes it or not, he has completely broken the trust between himself and his followers in the most unrepairable way. It's over, in its current state. Glassman's time leading CrossFit is done, and he can handle it one of two ways. He can either fight tooth and nail to keep afloat the fastest sinking ship in history, or he can sell.

My fantasy, my dream, is for a company that has deep roots within CrossFit's history to swoop in and buy Greg out, giving affiliates a fresh look with a strong moral compass, and an umbrella under which to flourish and grow. A company that has health and fitness at its forefront, but also competition, fanfare, and fair play. Someone who the biggest names in the community already back and supports 100%. I'm looking right at you, Rogue Fitness. Go save this thing, for a better tomorrow.

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